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1)X
GOULDING'S
Catholic Churches
OF
NEV/ YORK CITY.
ILLUSTRATED.
O^^ LIBRARY \
"^ MANHASSET, N. Y.
SAINT PATEICK'S CATHEDRAL.
FIFTH AVENUE.
New York's Cathedral, peerless in our land,
Tribute of faith to Erin's saint shall stand.
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^y^T-ry^/u/L oL ^L y/iU^'c/ ir//i.
V\vV^S5 THE
CATHOLIC CHURCHES
NEW YOEK CITY,
SKETCHES OF THEIR HISTORY AND LIVES OF
THE PRESENT PASTORS.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION ON THE EARLY IHSTORY OF CATHOLICITY
ON THE ISLAND, AND LIVES OF THE MOST REVEREND
AUCUBISHOrS iVND BISHOPS.
KDITED BY
JOHN GILMARY SHEA.
PUBLISHED WITH TIIK COMRIKNDATION OF HIS EMINENCK
JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY.
NEW YORK:
LAWRENCE G. GOULDING & CO.,
132, 134 AND 136 NASSAU STREET.
1878.
Entered according to Aet of Congress, in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Seventy-seven,
By LAWRENCE G. GOULDING & CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washlmgton.
KLECTUOTirED AND IRINTEI) HY
THE NATIONAL PRINTING CO.,
16, 18, 20 AND 22 CHAMBRRS STREET,
NEW YORK.
TO HIS EMINENCE
JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY,
ARCHBISHO*P OF NEW YOKK,
THESE SKETCHES OP THE
CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK CITY,
ALL BUtLT ■\VITHIN HIS LIFKTIME,
AND IN ALL OF WHICH, A3 IN ALL THAT PRECEDED TIIEM,
HE HAS KNELT IN YOUTH OR OFFICIATED IN MANHOOD, AS
PEIEST, BISHOP, AECHBISHOP,
AND
CARDINAL,
AKE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
^-a
PREFACE
THE work liero i)resented to the pulillc shows
perhaps more strikingly than any ordinary con-
ception woukl pictnre the actual position of the Catholic
body in New York City. The churches which are the
sanctuaries of more than half the i)0])ulation of the great
commerci.al city of the AYestern World; the clmrches which
each Sunday are crowded by fully three-fourths of all
church-goers in oiu- metropolis ; the churches where four-
fifths of all who enter the fold of Christ by baptism re-
ceive that sacrament; the churches whose ministry exer-
cises a moral influence over a vast majority of the
people — these churches are traced here from their origin,
described by pen and pencil, and the jiastors made known
to whose hands the si)iritual care is confided. The paro-
chial schools, created instinctively by these chm-ches, where
by the self-sacrifice of this one denomination a perfect army
of their children recei^•e a gratuitous education, and whose
numbers the public schools, with the wealth of a State
and city at their command, can barely treble; academies
for higher and the highest education of both sexes; three
6 PREFACE.
incorpoi'ated colleges ; hospitals ; asylums for orphans, the
uncared for babe, the aged and forsaken; homes for the
neglected and shelterless; communities devoting their lives
and energy to Avorks of mercy — are all presented here,
briefly, indeed, for justice to their self-devotion would re-
quire volumes.
A general sketch of the early liistory of Catholicity on
this island, and of the illustrious prelates whom the succes-
sors of St. Peter have placed in the See of New York
since its erection, makes the picture a complete one to
all who Avish to examine and see the progress and in-
fluence of the Catholic Church in New York City.
It has been the aini of the jniblishers to make this
a work of enduring value by calling to their aid all the
finest Avork of typography and art. It is a vohime to
be a monument and a pride in every Catholic family,
for to each the Chiux-h and its clergy have associations
that endear them, and blend Avith all the" joys and sorrows
of life, their sacrifices here and their hopes hereafter.
As the publishers have spared no outlay in collecting
material, or on the literary and artistic execution, they
copyright the work, and notify all that no unauthorized
use of the contents in violation of their rights Avill be
permitted.
CONTENTS.
PAGK
INTRODUCTION 17
THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF NEW YORK 33
Rt. Rev. Richard Luke Concanen, of the Order of St. Dommic, First
Bishop of New York • 33
Rt. Eev. John Connolly, of the Order of St. Dominic, Second Bishop of
New York 39
Rt. Rev. John Du Bois, D.D., Third Bishop of New York 44
Most Rev. John Hughes, D.D., Fourth Bishop and First Archbishop of
New York 49
His Eminence John Cardinal McCloskey, First Bishop of Albany,
Second Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Priest of the Holy
Roman Church, under the title of Sancta Maria Supra Minervani. 59
Pastoral Letter Dedicating the Churches of the Pkotince
OF NE-flT York to the Sacred Heart of Jesus 73
THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW Y'ORK CITY 81
The Cathedral Church of St. Patrick, Mott Street 81
Very Rev. William Quinn, Rector of the Cathedral, Vicar General 104'
Roll of Honor 105
Church of St. Agnes, East Forty -third Street 107
Rev. Harry C. Macdowall, Pastor of St. Agnes' Church. 119
Roll of Honor 121
Church of St. Alphonsus Liguori, South Fifth Avenue 123
Rev. Joseph Wirth, C.SS.R., Pastor of St. Alphonsus' Church. . . 131
Roll of Honor 133
viii CONTENTS.
PAGE
St. Andrew's Church, Duane Street and City Hall Place 135
Rev. Jlidiael Ciirran, Pastor of St. Andrew's Church 143
Iloll of Honor l-l"
St. Ann's Church, East Twelfth Street 149
Very Eev. Thomas S. Preston, Vicar General and Chancellor,
Pastor of St. Ann's Church 159
Roll of Honor 163
Clmrch of the Annunciation, 131st Street, Manhattanville 165
Rev. Jeremiah J. Griffin, Pastor of the Cliurch of the Annuncia-
tion 175
Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Sullivan Street 178
Rev. Father Anacletus da Roccagorga, O.S.E., Pastor of the
Church of St. Anthony of Padua 185
Roll of Honor 187
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 189
Roll of Honor 192
Rev. Bernard Anthony Schwenniger, Pastor of the Church of the
Assumption 193
Church of St. Augustine, 170th Street, Morrisania 195
Rev. John J. McNamee, Pastor of the Church of St. Augustine. . 201
Roll of Honor 203
Church of St. Bernard, West Fourteenth Street 205
Eev. Gabriel A. Healy, Pastor of St. Bernard'.s Church 213
Roll of Honor 215
Church of St. Boniface, Second Avenue and Forty-seventh Street 217
Rev. Matthew Nicot, Pastor of St. Boniface's Church 221
Roll of Honor 222
Church of St. Bridget, Avenue B 224
Roll of Honor 231
Rev. Patrick Francis McSweeny, D.D., Pastor of St. Bridget's
Church 233
Church of St. Cecilia, East 105th Street 236
Roll of Honor 240
Rev. Hugh Flattery, Pastor of St. Cecilia's Church 241
Church of St. Columba, West Twenty-fifth Street 244
Roll of Honor 252
CONTENTS. ix
PAGE
Rev. Michael McAleer, Pastor of St. Columba's Church 253
Church of St. Gyrillus and St. Methodius (Bohemian), East Fourth
Street 257
Rev. A. V. Vacula, Pastor of the Church of St. Cj'rillus and St.
Methodius 201
Churches of St. Elizabeth and St. John, Fort Washington and Kings-
bridge 264
* Roll of Honor , 270
Rev. Henry A. Brann, D.D., Pastor of St. Elizabeth's and St.
John's 271
Church of the Epiphany of Our Lord, Second Avenue 274
Roll of Honor 282
Rev, Richard Lalor Burtsell, D.D., Pastor of the Church of the
Epiphany 283
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, West Thirty-first Street 286
Rev. Eugene Dikovich, O.S.F., Pastor of the Church of St.
Francis of Assisi 293
Church of St. Francis Xavier, West Sixteenth Street 296
Roll of Honor 308
Rev. David Merrick, S.J., Pastor of the Church of St. Francis
Xavier 309
Church of St. Gabriel, East Thirty-seventh Street 312
Roll of Honor 321
Rev. William H. Clowry, Pastor of St. Gabriel's Church 323
Church of the Holy Cross, West Forty-second Sti-eet 326
Roll of Honor 333
Rev. Charles McCready, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Cross. 335
Church of the Holy Innocents, West Thirty-seventh Street 338
Roll of Honor 344
Rev. John Larkin, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Innocents. . . 345
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Ninety-seventh Street and
Broadway 349
Rev. James M. Galligan, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Name
of Jesus 353
Church of the Jlost Holy Rede<^mer, Third Street 356
Rev. Thaddeus Anwander, C.SS.R., Rector of the Church of the
Most Holy Redeemer 307
X CONTENTS.
PAGE
Church of the Immaculate Conception, East Fourteenth Street 370
Rev. John Edwards, Pastor of the Church of the Immaculate
Conception, East Fourteenth Street 377
Roll of Honor 379
Church of the Immaculate Conception, 151st Street, Melrose 381
Roll of Honor 385
Rev. Joseph SLumpe, Pastor of the Church of the Immaculate
Conception, Melrose , 387
Church of St. James, James Street 390
Roll of Honor 401
Rev. Felix H. Farrelly, Pastor of the Church of St. James 403
Church of St. Jerome, Alexander Avenue and 139th Street 406
Rev. John J. Hughes, Pastor of the Church of St. Jerome 409
Roll of Honor 410
Church of St. John the Baptist, West Thirtieth Street 413
Rev. Bonaventura Frey, O. Min. Cap., Pastor of the Church of
St. John the Baptist 423
Church of St. John the Evangelist, Fifteenth Street 426
Roll of Honor 43C
Rev. James McMahon, Pastor of the Church of St. John the
Evangelist 437
Church of St. Joseph, Sixth Avenue and West Washington Place .... 440
Pioll of Honor 450
Rev. Thomas Farrell, Pastor of the Church of St. Joseph 451
Church of St. Joseph (German), East Eighty-seventh Street, York-
ville 454
Roll of Honor 458
Rev. Joseph Durthaller, S. J., Pastor of the Church of St. Joseph,
Yorkville 459
Church of St. Joseph (German), 125th Street and Ninth Avenue, Man-
hattanvillo 462
Roll of Honor 464
Rev. Anthony Kesseler, Pastor of the Church of St. Joseph,
Manliattanville 405
Church of St. Joseph, Washington Avenue, near 176th Street, Tre-
mont 468
Rev. Nicholas J. S.Tonner, Pastor of St. Joseph's Church,Tren}ont. 471
CONTENTS. ^
PAGE
Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole, Eighty-fourth Street, near Fourth
Avenue, Yorkville 474
Eev. Father John A. Treanor, S.J., Pastor of the Church of St.
Lawrence O'Toole 479
Roll of Honor 4g2
Church of St. Mary, Grand Street 483
Roll of Honor 503
Rev. Edward J. O'Reilly, Pastor of the Church of St. Mary .... 505
Church of St. Mary Magdalen, East Seventeenth Street 509
Rev. Adam Francis Tonner, Pastor of the Church of St. Mary
Magdalen ^n
Roll of Honor 522
Church of St. Michael, West Thirty-second Street 515
Roll of Honor 52i
Rev. Arthur J. Donnelly, Pastor of the Church of St. Michael ... 523
Church of (he Nativity of Our Lord, Second Avenue 527
Roll of Honor 532
Rev. William Everett, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity 533
Church of St. Nicholas, Second Street 53^
Roll of Honor 544
Rev. F. J. Shadier, Pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas 545
Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Fordham 543
Roll of Honor 550
Rev. John Fitzpatrick, S.J., Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of
^^'"''^y 553
Church of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors (Our Lady of Sorrows), Pitt
Sfeet '.... 556
Roll of Henor f-nr^
Rev. Father Laurentius Vorwerk, O. Min. Cap., Superior at the
Church of the Seven Dolors 5g2
Church of St. Paul, East 117th Street, Harlem ' .' 554
Rev. Eugene Maguire, Pastor of the Church of St. Paul, Harlem. 569
Roll of Honor ^r-i
Church of St. Paul the Apostle, West Fifty-ninth Street, near Ninth
Avenue ,._„
Rev. Isaac T. Hecker, Pastor of the Church of St. Paul the
Apostle 5^g
xii CONTENTS.
PACE
Roll of Honor (Church of St. Paul the Apostle) 583
Church of St. Peter, Barclay Street 586
Rev. Michael J. O'Farrell, Pastor of the Church of St. Peter ... 621
Roll of Honor 624
Church of St. Rose of Lima, Cannon Street C2C
Rev. Richard Brennan, Pastor of the Church of St. Rose of Lima . 035
Roll of Honor 037
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, West Fifty -first Street 639
Roll of Honor 042
Rev. Martin J. Brophy, Pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus 643
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, High Bridge 645
Roll of Honor 648
Rev. James Augustine Mullin, Pastor of "the Church of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, New York City." 649
Church of St. Stanislaus, Stanton Street 651
Rev. Francis X. Wayman, Pastor of St. Stanislaus' Church 655
Church of St. Stephen, Twenty -eighth Street 658
Roll of Honor 097
Rev. E. McGlynn, D.D., Pastor of St. Stephen's Church 671
Church of St. Teresa, Rutgers Street 673
Roll of Honor 680
Rev. Michael C. O'Farrell, Pastor of St. Teresa's Church 683
Church of the Transfaguration, Mott Street 687
Rev. James H. McGean, Pastor of Transfiguration Church 697
Roll of Honor 699
Church of St. Vincent de Paul, West Twenty-third Street 702
Rev. Edmond Aubril, Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul's Church, .... 715
Roll of Honor 716
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, Lexington Avenue 718
Roll of Honor 722
Rev. Father Joseph H. Slinger, O.V., Pastor of St. Vincent Fer-
rer's Church 723
Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Mortuary Chapel of Calvary
Cemetery) 724
INSTITUTIONS.
St. John's College, Fordham 728
CONTENTS. xiii
PAGE
College of St. Francis Xavicr 729
Manhattan College 730
De la Salle Institute 730
Manhattan Academy 731
The Sisters of Charity (Mount St. Vincent's Academy, local Acade-
mies, Asylums, Hospitals) 732
Ladies of the Sacred Heart 737
Academy of the Sacred Heart, Manhattanville 739
Academy of the Sacred Heart, Seventeenth Street 739
The Sisters of l^Iercy 740
Sisters of the Good Shepherd 742
The Little Sisters of the Poor 744
The Sisters Marianites of the Holy Cross 744
Ursulines - '^'^^
The Jlissionary Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis 745
The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis 746
The School Sisters of Notre Dame 746
The Sisters of the Order of St. Dominic 747
St. Michael's Convent of the Presentation Nuns 747
The Sisters of Christian Charity 747
The Mission of the Immaculate Virgin 748
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait of his Emmence Cardinal McCloskey, frontispiece.
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mott Street, destroyed by fire October 6, 186G. . 78
St. Patrick's Cathedral Rebuilt 80
Church of St. Agnes, East Forty-third Street 106
Rev. Harry 0. Macdowall, Pastor of St. Agnes' Church, faces 119
Church of St. Alphonsus Liguori, South Fifth Avenue 122
Church of St. Andrew, Duane Street and City Hall Place 134
Rev. Michael Curran, Pastor of St. Andrew's Church, faces 143
Church of St. Ann, East Twelfth Street 148
Very Rev. Thomas S. Preston, V.G., Pastor of St. Ann's Church, faces 159
Church of the Annunciation, 131st Street 164
Rev. Jeremiah J. Griffin, Pastor of the Church of the Annunciation,
faces 175
Church of St. Anthony, Sullivan Street 177
Rev. Father Anacletus da Roccagorga, O.S.F., Pastor of St. Anthony's
Church, faces 185
xiv CONTENTS.
PAGE
Church of the Assumption, West Forty-ninth Street 188
Rev. Bernard Anthony Schwenniger, Pastor of the Church of the
Assumption, faces 193
Church of St. Augustine, 170th Street, Morrisania 194
Rev. John J. j\IcNamee, Pastor of St. Augustine's Church, faces 201
Church of St. Bernard, West Fourteenth Street 204
Rev. Gabriel A. Healy, Pastor of St. Bernard's Church, faces 213
Church of St. Boniface, Second Avenue and Forty-seventh Street. . . . 217
Rev. Matthew Nicot, Pastor of St. Boniface's Church, faces 221
Church of St. Bridget, Avenue B 223
Rev. Patriclf F. McSweeny, D.D., Pastor of St. Bridget's Church, faces. 233
Church of St. Cecilia, East 105th Street 235
Rev. Hugh Flattery, Pastor of St. Cecilia's Church, faces 241
Church of St. Columba, West Twenty-fifth Street 243
Rev. Michael McAleer, Pastor of the Church of St. Columba, faces. . . 253
Rev. A. V. Vacula, Pastor of the Church of St. Cyrillns and St.
Methodius, faces 261
Church of St. Elizabeth, West 137th Street 263
Rev. Henry A. Brann, Pastor of Elizabeth's and St. John's, faces .... 271
Church of the Epiphany, Second Avenue 273
Rev. Eichard Lalor Burtsell, D.D., Pastor of the Church of the Epi-
phany, faces 283
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Thirty-first Street, between Sixth and
Seventh Avenues 286
Eev. Eugene Dikovich, O.S.F., Pastor of the Church of St. Francis of
Assisi, faces 293
Church of St. Francis Xavier, West Sixteenth Street 295
Church of St. Gabriel, East Thirty-seventh Street 311
Rev. William H. Clowry, Pastor of the Church of St. Gabriel, faces. . . 323
Church of the Holy Cross, West Forty-second Street 325
Rev. Charles McCready, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Cross, races 335
Church of the Holy Innocents, West Thirty-seventh Street 337
Rev. John Larkin, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Innocents, faces . 345
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Boulevard, near West Ninety-
seventh Street 348
Rev. James M. Galligan, Pastor of the Church of the Holy Name, faces 353
Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, Third Street 355
CONTENTS. XV
PAGE
ChurcU of the IniiiuicuJate Conception, East Eourtcenth Street 369
Rev. John Eilwards, Pastor of the Church of the Inmiaculato Concep-
tion, faces ^77
Church of the Imnuiculato Conception, ISlst Street 380
Eev. Joseph Stunipe, Pastor of the Church of tho Iniinaculate Concep-
tion, Melrose, faces 387
Churcli of St. James, James Street 389
Eev. Eelix II. Farrellj', Pastor of St. James' Churcli, faces 403
Church of St. Jerome, 137th Street 405
Eev. John J. Hughes, Pastor of the Church of St. Jerome, faces 409
Church of St. John the Baptist, West Thirtieth Street 414
Very Rev. Father Bonaventura Frey, 0. Min. Caji., Pastor of the
Church of St. John the Baptist, faces ... 423
Church of St. John the Evangelist, East Fiftieth Street 425
Rev. James !McMahon, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist, faces 437
Church of St. Joseph, Sixth Avenue 439
Rev. Thomas Farrell, Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, faces 451
Church of St. Joseph (German), East Eighty-seventh Street 453
Rev. Joseph Durthaler, Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Ydrkville, faces. 459
Church of St. Joseph (German), West 125th Street 401
Rev. Anthony Kesseler, Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Manhattan-
ville, faces 405
Church of St. Joseph (German), Washington Avenue, near 17(ith Street. 407
Rev. Nicholas J. S. Tonner, Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Treniont,
faces 471
Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole, Eighty-fourth Street 473
Church of St. Mary, Grand Street 482
Rev. Edward J. O'Reilly, Pastor of St. Mary's Church, faces 505
Church of St. Mary Magdalen, East Seventeenth Street 508
Church of St. Michael, West Thirty-second Street 512
Rev. Arthur J. Donnelly, Pastor of St. Jlichael's Church, faces 523
Church of the Nativity of Our Lord, Second Avenue 526
Rev. AVilliam Everett, Pastor of the Church of tho Nativity, faces 533
Church of St. Nicholas, Second Street 535
Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Fordliani 547
Church of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors, Pitt Street 555
Church of St. Paul, East 117th Street. . . .* 503
xvi CONTENTS.
PAGE
llev. Eugene Maguire, Pastor of St. Paul's Church, Harlem, faces 5G9
Church of St. Paul the Apostle, West Fifty-ninth Street 572
Very Eev. Isaac T. Hecker, Pastor of the Church of St. Paul the
Apostle, faces 579
Cliurch of St. Peter, Barclay Street 585
Rev. Michael J. O'Parrell, Pastor of St. Peter's Church, faces (521
Church of St. Peter, built in 1786, taken down in 1836 623
Church of St. Rose of Lima, Cannon Street 625
Eev. Richard Brennan, Pastor of the Church of St. Rose of Lima, faces. 635
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, "West Fifty-first Street 638
Rev. Martin J. Brophy, Pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, faces 643
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, High Bridge 644
Church of St. Stanislaus, Stanton Street 650
Rev. Francis X. "Waynuui, Pastor of St. Stanislaus' Cliurcli, faces .... 655
Church of St. Stephen, East Twenty-eighth Street 657
Rev. E. McGlynn, D.D., Pastor of St. Stephen's Church, faces 671
Church of St. Teresa, Rutgers Street '. . . 673
Rev. Michael C. O'Farrell, Pastor of St. Teresa's Church, faces 683
Church of the Transfiguration, Mott Street 686
Rev. James H. McGean, Pastor of Transfiguration Church, faces. . . . 697
Church of St. Vincent de Paul, West Twenty -third Street 701
Rev. Edmond Aubril, Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul's Church, faces . . 715
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, Lexington Avenue 717
Convent of the Sacred Heart, Manhattanville 738
INTRODUCTION.
THE Catholic Churches in New York City comprise
the new Catliedral of St. Patrick, the noblest
and finest temple erected to the worship of Almighty God
in the Western world, and fifty-four churches, many of
them elegant and spacious structures, elaborate in their
adornment, not adapted to any capricious taste of the
day, but ever-speaking monuments that in the midst of
the world and the worldly proclaim that all is vanity
except loving God and serving Him alone.
They are unmistakably cluu-ches, erected for divine
worship and at personal sacrifice. They are permanent,
not to pass after a few years to ignoble uses, but devoted
for all time to their holy purpose.
Nor are they merely for the gratification of a fcAv
rich worshipers, with a thin congi-egation scattered tlu-ough
a vast nave. They are the cliurches of full one-half the
population of the gi-eat commercial city of America,
crowded not once only, biit at successive services every
2
18 INTRODUCTION.
Sunday and holiday, and each time by a new congrega-
tion come to adore God in spirit and in truth.
They have been built mainly by the contributions,
freely and generously given, of those who depended on
their daily exertions in some department of honest toil
for their o^^n support and advancement. This gives even
the poorest and humblest Catholic a personal interest in
the most splendid of these ecclesiastical glories of our
metropolis. As the chm-cli which he has helped to rear,
where he has joined in the holy sacrifice, been fed with
the Bread of Life, where he has perhaps been united to
the truly Clu-istian wife by the holy ties of sacramental
marriage, where his children have been enrolled in the
chui'ch by baptism — as all tliis, it is more near and more
dear to him than an earthly home. He looks up to its
Gotliic arch or its fretted ceiling, to all the rich tracery
of the altar, the breathing j)ictures, the vestments and
sacred vessels worthy of the service of God, and feels
that they are his ; and that, beautiful as they may be,
they are but a faint image of the glorious things pre-
pared for him hereafter, if he is but faithful to the
end.
It is only when they at last begin to fathom what
the Chm-ch is to the Catholic, that those separated from
us can begin to imderstand wliy we are so ready to
make any sacrifice to rear a worthy temple to the Most
High, and all the more ready as om- faith is pm-er,
EARLY HISTORY. 19
deeper, stronger ; and this is more clearh' seen in those
who have not been led iiway by that insatiate desire
for worldly affluence and j^rosperitv A\'hich has been the
bane and destruction of so many.
Every Catholic church in New York City has been
erected or relmilt within the last fifty years, and most
of them within the last two decades. How great, then,
have been the sacrifices ! for the church never stands
alone. There is scarce a parish which has not a suit-
able residence for the clergy, fine parochial schools, and
within its limits an asylum, industrial school, academy,
college — some institution for the ditfusiou of learning, or
the relief of spiritual and temporal wants.
As the creations of some monarch with the revenues
of a kingdom, these churches Avould in the pages of
history have given perpetual lustre to his name ; and cer-
tainly the meed of praise that would justly be bestowed
on one man, is as deservedly due to the Catholics of all
races and lands who, gathered here, have shown that in
their love and attachment to their holy Faith, they had
but one heart and one soul.
When the Catholic navigator, Verrazzano, and the
Catholic Gomez, about the year 1525, entei'ed the mag-
nificent Bay of New York, and marked the green sum-
mits of the Highlands of Navesink, and the shores clad
in forest and verdant meads, they were charmed with its
beauties. Beside the ship bearing the flag of France or
20 INTRODUCTION.
Spain, no vessel then rippled the surface but the frail
canoe of the natives, Avhich darted wonderingly across
its waters.
" The very large river that forced its way amid hills
to empty into the sea," as one described it, received the
name of St. Anthony, and Catholicity set her cross of pos-
session on the soil. But it Avoidd have been a wild dream
to imasrine that in three centuries and a half the Church
against which half Europe seemed rising in revolt would
have planted tlu-ee episcopal sees on the shores of that
bay, its ^^•aters lave the borders of tliree dioceses, one
presided over by a prince of the Chiu-ch. Who coidd
foresee that the rocky island at the mouth of the river,
with its lake and streams and scattered wigwams, would
give place to a city, ^x\ih a Catholic population far ex-
ceeding that of many a city in the Old AVorld, with an
array of churches siu-h as it is our purpose to trace
from their origin to their present condition of spiritual
grandeur and xisefulness?
If these Catholic pioneers had any aspiration for
the future of the faith, these hopes were rudely broken,
when, nearly a centiu-y after their visit, Henry Hudson,
a native of fallen England, led the ships of Calvinistic
Holland into oiu- glorious bay, and, giving his own name
to the river, left the Dutch to name the city and set-
tlement they founded, New Amsterdam.
For a time the Catholic history is a blank. In the
EARLY HISTORY. 21
new colony no religion was tolerated except the Calvin-
ist. The Catholic Hollander who had fonylit bravely be-
side his Protestant fellow-citizen against the Spanish rule
was rewarded by being deprived of all political power.
He could not even emigrate to America; but we are
nevertheless requested to praise Holland for establishing
religious liberty.
The few Catholics who reached New Netherland
were sent by misery, accident, or trade. In 1643, when
the settlement was twenty-eight years old, a Catholic
jjriest, a hero of the faith, torn and mangled by the
barbarous Moha'N'S'ks, and broken down by a year's
slavery, ^\as ransomed by the kind-hearted Hollanders,
and lirought to the island Avhere New York now stands.
In the little hamlet clustered under the rude fort, the
heroic priest. Father Isaac Jogues, the pioneer priest of
New York City and State, found but two Catholics — a
Portuguese woman, and a }'oung Irishman from Mary-
land ; and tlie ministr}' of the Clnuxh began with the
sacrament of penance. His stay was but a brief one,
but it inspired the people with respect for a religion
that could produce such heroes.
This missionary liad scarcely sailed for Eitrope when
another, Father Francis Joseph Bressani, a native of It-
aly, fell into the hands of the blood-thirsty savages ; and
he, too, rescued by the Dutch from slavery, descended
the Hiulson to New Amsterdam. If there were any
22 INTRODUCTION.
Catholics he did not find them during liis brief stay
within the hospitable walls of the Dutch town. Of
course, in their destitute condition, neither of these
priests, without chalice or vestments, could have offered
Tip the holy sacrifice in our city. When Father Jogues,
a few years later, Avas rewarded for his laborious mis-
sion-life by the crown of martyrdom, some of his vest-
ments and sacred vessels reached Ne-w York, precious
relics of a holy priest.
New York has ever been cosmopolitan in its char-
acter, and the beginnings of the Catholic Church in this
city are no less so. The first four Catholics recorded as
having been on the island belonged to as many differ-
ent nations — a tyY>e of the diversity wliich prevails to
this day, when the Catholic flock and its clergy show
representatives from almost every land and clime.
After that "visit of these two priests, a Jesuit Father
from Canada occasionally made his way to New Am-
sterdam, mid generally found, among the shipping in the
harbor, some Catholic, liappy to avail himself of the
ministry of a priest. Such were the flying visits of
Fathers Le Moyne and Vaillant
But dm'in<r the Dutch rule, Catholics were few and
transient. The Church had no foothold on ^lanhattan
Island. One day, in midsmiimer of 1664, however, a
squadron of four English vessels, bearing the flag of the
Catholic Duke of York, as Lord High Admiral, entered
EAliLY HISTORY. 23
the biiA', and tlie group of officers on their decks gazed
■with delight on the fair prospect as they anchored near
the Narrows. They came to claim the colony for
James, Duke of York, on whom his brother, Charles II.,
ignoring the Dutch title, had conferred it.
Under the new rule, religious freedom was at last
proclaimed. The new colony of New York was opened
to our faith. Lieutenant Anthony Brockholls, of a Cath-
olic family in Lancashire, came over in 1674, as second
to Governor Andros in the direction of the colony,
\'\'hicli was indeed ably governed for se^'eral years by
this accomplished gentleman, some of whose descendants
in om* day have retm'ned to the faith he professed.
A fcAv Catholic settlers amved, and James at last resolv-
ed to make such arrangements that they should be able
to worship God in the free air of the New World ac-
cording to the dictates of their conscience. The Jesuits
had for half a century zealously attended to the spirit-
ual wants of the Catholics on the Chesapeake. They now
extended their care to New York. When the brave, po-
litic and able Colonel Thomas Dongan, an Irish Catholic
of noble family, came out as Governor, in 1683, Father
Thomas Harvey accompanied liim ; Catholic Governor and
Catholic priest alike being escorted out of Boston, where
they landed, by the Puritan militia of that place.
Father Henry Harrison had preceded him, and be-
gun his labors in June ; and Father Charles Gage, Avith
24 INTRODUCTION.
two lay brothers, soon followed. The little mission was
organized to minister to the Catholics in the province,
and rejjlace the French missionaries among the Indians
within the limits claimed by England.
A room was fitted up as a chapel in the Governor's
house within the fort, and here, for the first time, mass
Avas off"ered in the City of New York. Opposite the
Bowling Gieen, Avhere the statue of the last British royal
ruler once stood, is noAv a row of buildings looking up
the brilliant kaleidoscope of Broadway, with its ever-chang-
ing waves of the votaries of fashion, commerce, and toil.
These buildings occupy nearly the site of the old fort,
and not far from the center of the row was the spot
hallowed by the first mass ever offered on the Island
of New York. Here, in a private oratory, mass was said —
the little congregation consisting of the Governor and some
Catholic officers and gentry, in all the bravery of the
gay reign of Charles II., relieved by contrast with the
soberer garb of the humbler adlierents of the ancient
faith.
The Fathers found Catholics scattered tlu'oughout the
various settlements of New York and New Jersey, and
we can trace their ministrations from Esopus to Staten
Island, Woodbridge, and Elizabeth ; but the general feeling
was unfriendly.
Education has ever been the aim of the Society of
Jesus ; and these Fathers, true to their mission, opened a
EARLY HISTORY. 25
Latin Scliodl on tlie gronnds now occupied by the stately
edifice of Trinity Chvu-cli. It was the first educational
institution of tlio kind in the city, and was attended by
the sons of the best families, eager to avail themselves of
the advantages it aff"orded.
Under the wise and able rule of James, and the
Governors appointed by him, civil and religious libert^'
were secured to the colonists, in the grand New York
Charter of 1683, and in the Legislature Avhich was es-
tablished and which passed the charter. Then Catholics
began to settle in a colony which offered them a home
and the rights their manhood claimed. ]\Iany of these
•\Aere persons of means, education, and ability, who would
have been singidarly serviceable to the colony.
While Catholicity was tlms acquiring a home in New
York, and in the minds of the more intelligent some of the
veils of prejudice were lifting, the horizon suddenly chang-
ed. James IL was hurled from the throne. When the
news reached New York, Leisler, a fanatic maniac, seized
the reigns of government, and commenced a system of
terror. In his mad deliriimi he saw nothing but Popish
plots, Jesuit conspiracies. William of Orange looked on
in sublime unconcern at the ruin of New York, as if
pleased to see the province peculiar to his predecessor
reduced to the utmost misery.
The Catholic clerg}-, no longer safe, left the colony;
one to reach Maryland by devious ways, the others to
26 INTRODUCTION.
return to Europe. The Catholics of means wlio had settled
removed to other parts ; some to Canada, some to other
English colonies. Those who remained in order to save
their property made no show of their faith, jind in the
next generation Dongan and Brockholls ceased to be Catho-
lic names in the Colony of New York.
Under Governor Fletcher, in l(!i)G, the number of
Catholics in the city, according to an official report made
to him and transmitted to England, was only nine. .
Yet the fanatical hatred aroused by Leisler lived, and
the next Governor, the Earl of Bellomont, was of a temper
to give it a most fiendish character. Coming from Ireland,
where his father. Colonel Coote, had been one of the blood-
iest butchers of the Irish Catholics in Cromwell's time,
Bellomont inherited all the sanguinary ferocity of the
father, combined with the shrewder statecraft of the un-
principled politicians of his time.
By his personal influence and vote in council, the
New York Legislatm-e, abandoning its broad charter of
liberties for one less comprehensive and manly, passed, in
1700, a law by which any Catholic priest entering the
colony or its limits, as claimed by England, was con-
demned to imprisonment for life. If he escaped from
bondage and was recaptm'ed, the anointed priest of God
was to swing on a gallows, like a mm-derer.
In the same spirit was the law that any one who
harbored a priest, who gave him a night's shelter or a
EARLY HISTORY. 27
meal, was punished by a heavy fine and the pillory.
Other enactments disabled Catholics from holding any office
or even casting a vote for any civil or military position in
the colony. With a name that recalled its Catholic Lord
Proprietor, New York excluded Catholics from its borders.
For years Catholics were almost unknown in the City
and Colony of New York. Dm-ing the wars with Spain,
the privateers occasionally brought a priest into our harbor,
among the prisoners taken on the vessels ; and the rec-
ords show how shamefully they were insulted and wronged.
The negroes in the Spanish Colonies were instructed in
Christianity, and ennobled by its hopes; but every Spanish
negro captured in these vessels, though free by Spanish
law, was sold as a slave in New York. The priest and
his white countrymen were finally released, but the negro
remained to represent the faith.
In 1741, a wild delusion seized the town. An ac-
cidental fire in the fort was ascribed to a plot among
the negroes to desti-oy the city. The Spanish negroes be-
came especial objects of terror. Many negroes and some
whites were aiTested, and perished on the scaffold or at
the stake, convicted on the loosest and most unsatisfactory
evidence. A belief gained ground that a Catholic priest
was the originator of the supposed plot. A harmless, non-
juiing clergyman from England, who had been acting as
an humble teacher, was tried; and, as justice and com-
mon sense alike had fled, poor Ury was hung.
28 INTRODUCTION.
Witli such a fate before them, few r'atlioHcs dare enter
New York. Almost the first one "\A'ho makes any figure wna
John Leary, who resided in Courthiudt street, and became
popular with the gentry as one who kept and imported
horses, famed for their excellence. The street often Avent
by his name. His rehgfion was avowed ; and the popu-
lar rumor of the dav assures us that he did not neglect
his Easter duty, but tliat he A^'ent every year to Phila-
delphia for confession.
In 1755, a number of Catholics entered New York
City. They were not })risouers of war, for they had long
been Bi-itish subjects ; they were not rebels, for they had
done nothing against government. They were the unhaj)p}'
Acadians of Nova Scotia, who, as Popish recusants, had
been deprived of their estates and ])i-operty, and carried
off, to the mnnber of seven thousand, to be scattered along
the coast from New Hampshire to Georgia.
Several hundi-ed reached New Yoi-k; but in tlie Gov-
ernor, Sir Charles Hardy, they found an inexorable enemy.
They were scattered tlu'ough the colony, the childi'en
bound out, the adults put to labor. At every alarm they
were huddled into the jails. Some, who had made their
way from Georgia and South Carolina, were seized on
reaching Long Island, in the following year, and treated
with even greater cruelty.
The several hunth-ed Acadian Catholics melted away : .
many dying of broken heai-ts ; many perisliing- from the
EARLY llISTOltY. 29
noxious air and iiltli of the prisons of that day; many,
used in their own land to ease and comfort, breaking
down prematm'ely vmder tlie unaccustomed toil. Others
escaped to Canada or Illinois — - perhaps by way of the
Six Nations, who, Indians as they were, were less cruel
than the whites.
This body of compulsory emigrants did not form a
permanent body of Catholics in New York, and no trace
of them appears thirty years later.
Among the class known as Redemptioners — those who
were sold at auction for a term of service, in order to
pay their ^^^''^•'^'^g'G money — were, doubtless, not a few
Catholics, about this time, both German and Irish. Their
number did not equal that in Pennsylvania, where Catho-
licity had from the first enjoyed a degree of freedom.
The little body of Catholics that had grown up in
the City of New York a huncb-ed and ten years ago,
began to long for the occasional visit of a jiriest. Few
could afford what was then a long and tedious journey to
Philadelphia, in order to approach the sacraments, and
have mamages blessed and childi'en baptized. They were
too few in number to make any effort to secure a per-
manent pastor, to whom tliey could ofiFer no adequate siq?-
port. But Providence did not forsake them. In sj^ite of
penal laws and the bitter prejudices prevailing, the Jesuit
Fathers in Philadelphia gradually extended their pastoral
visits to scattered Catholics in New Jersey ; and just be-
30 INTEODUCTION.
fore the Revolution the Rev. Ferdinand Steinmeyr — known
on the mission by the name of Fanner — entered New-
York, lie was a man of great learning, a mathematician
of such excellence that the Royal Society of London elect-
ed him a memlaer. He was more than the equal of the
learned New York Governor, Cadwallader Golden; but he
had to enter the city in disguise, and reach Wall street
without exciting observation ; there, as tradition says, to
meet a few Catholics in the house of a good Gennan.
When the colonies rose against England, the feeling
against the mother country was combined with tlie old
cr}' against the Catholics. The first flag raised by the
Sons of Liberty in New York was inscribed "No Poj)ery."
An Irish priest, who had entei'ed the colony and ministered
to some Scotch Catholics, fled Avith his flock, before the
rising storm, to the more tolerant soil of Canada.
The English army took and held New York. Among
its soldiery, both from the British Isles and Germany,
there were Catholics, who had enjoyed the services of
jiriests in Canada, Ijut were alloAved none in New York.
A French Augustinian priest, who had been brought in
a prisoner, ventm'ed to officiate for the Catholics in the
city, who, on learning his character, had eagerly sought
to enjoy the consolations of relig-ion. He had been pa-
roled, and did not suppose that English authorities, who
allowed the Catholic priest to exercise his ministry in
Canada, would take tmibrage at his doing the same in
EARLY HISTORY. 31
New York. He applied to the commanding officer for per-
mission, and, mistaking the answer, proceeded to offer vip
the Holy Sacrifice. He was at once aiTCsted and kept in
close confinement, like the unfortnnate American prisoners,
perhaps undergoing the horrors suffered in the old Dutch
Church in Nassau street, or the old Provost Prison, now
the Hall of Records.
Down to the days of the Revolution, not only was
Catholicity proscribed and the Catholic worship prohibited
by a terrible penal law, but every Protestant who held
any office under the colony had to take an oath that
he believed none of the characteristic articles of the
Catholic fiiith.
"I do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of
God, profess, testifie and declare, that I do believe that
in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any
Transubstantiation of the elements of Bread and Wine
into the Body and Blood of Christ, at or after the con-
secration thereof by any person whatsoever; and that the
invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other
Saint, and the Sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used
in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous."
Such was the history of Catholicity in New York, from
the time its Catholic explorers raised aloft in its waters
the symbol of its triumphs — visits of heroic missionaries
covered with wounds ; a brief period in the rule and reign
of James II., as Duke and King, when the Church had
32 INTRODUCTION.
jDastors, school, a flock ; a j^eriod under the penal laws,
when Catholicity was under the ban; and at last deliver-
ance b}' a Revolution, which, in its outset, seemed bitterly
hostile to the Church.
Wlien peace came, the Catholics looked aroimd for
each other. They found that they were really a consider-
able body, able to support a pastor. Then came repre-
sentatives of foreig-n jDOwers — consuls of France, Spain,
Portugal, and Germany. Wliile New York was capital
of the United States, foreign ministers from Catholic powers
resided here, and were coiuied by the hig-hest society;
several Catholic members of Congress also lived here dur-
ing the sessions of that body. With the prestige given
by these personages, and by Catholic merchants of means
who made the city a home. Catholics no longer felt that
they were helots. They were freemen in a free land.
THE
Archbishops and Bishops of New York.
RT. REV. RICHARD LUKE CONCANEN, D.D.,
OF THE ORDER OF ST. DOMINIC.
FIRST BISHOP OF NEW YORK.
THE splendor of tlie Catholic Church in this country,
as we see it in our time, towards the close of the
nineteenth centurj', with a hierarchy, an Archbishop residing-
in New York — holding-, too, one of the highest dignities
in the Church, that of Cardinal Priest — Suffragan Bishops
throughout the State, and the neighboring State that
was in old time part of New York, with magnificent
churches, the services carried out with splendor, accord-
ing to the impressive ritual of our Holy Mother — all
this could not have been dreamed of in the beffinnino-
of the present age.
A hundred years ago the Catholic gifted with fore-
sight who should have told his Protestant neighbors that
such things would ever be, would have been deemed
insane.
The few Catholics in New York had no church,
no priest, no bishop. Those in Pennsylvania and Mary-
3
34 INTRODUCTION.
land were more blessed ; yet nowhere tlu-oughout tliis
beautiful land, from which the united arms and courage
and endiu-ance and wisdom of Protestant and Catholic,
side by side in the council hall and in the battle-field,
had at last banished their old oppressors, had a Cath-
olic bishop ever been seen.
The missionaries who in the days of James II. laid
the comer-stone of our Church in this city, organizing
a congregation in their little chapel witliin the walls of
Fort James, were under the spiritual jurisdiction of Dr.
John Leyburn, Yicar Apostolic, first of all England and
then of the London District.
Tlie Catholics in the colonies — and among the rest
those ^\\\o, at a later day, ■\\-itli many misgivings at-
tempted, or were forced to fix their home in New York —
looked up to the successors of Bishop Leybm-n as their
prelate ; but none had ever crossed the ocean. A bishop
was personally unknown.
When the country recovered from the exhausting
war, the new governments in most of the States left
religion comparatively free. The Catholics in America at
last received a bishop, in the person of the venerated
John CaiToll, first Bishop, as • he was later, first Arch-
bishop of Baltimore.
His diocese was the whole United States, as fixed
by the treaty of peace. He could not A'isit it all, but
he did ^asit New York, and gave an impulse to the
EARLY HISTORY. 35
faith. Under the guidance of that great prelate, the
Irish, the German, and a few American Cathohcs, began
to form prosperous congregations. New York, in its re-
hgious life, throve under the fostering care of the illus-
trious Archbishop Carroll. Ilis grand and noble figm-e is
associated witli the early annals of the Church in oiu-
city ; here, as elsewhere, guiding pastors and flocks with
the rare judgment and singular gifts with which God
endowed him in selecting him to be the coraer-stone
of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United
States.
But he felt from the first that the diocese in its
vast extent Avas beyond his power, or that of any one
bishop, to direct properly. His mission, he felt, was to
organize, harmonize, and quicken the Catholic bod}', so
that when it had a life of Its own, it could be divided
into different dioceses without leading to ineAatable con-
fusion.
The increase in New York Avas, he saw, mainly
from the green shores of Ireland ; increasing when the
gallant struggle for freedom was crushed in blood, and
the very national existence was swept away. He appre-
ciated the zeal, fervor, and imd}'ing faith of the Irish
Catholics ; and he looked forward to the appointment of
some gifted priest of the land of St. Patrick, St. Bridget,
and St. Columbkille, to build up the stately edifice of
Catholicity in New York. And we see the same
36 INTEODUCTION.
thoiig-lit in tlie suggestion of the name of the Apostle of
Ireland as titular of a cathedral.
"The number of Catholic congregations daily spring-
ing up in every direction," wrote this great prelate,
"has at last induced Pius VII., the present venerable
Pontitf, wlio, in the midst of tribulations most bitter to
nature, but equally glorious in liis Divine Master, so
worthily fills the Pontifical chair, to erect Baltimore into
a Metropolis or Archbishoprick, and to establish four new
suffragan dioceses, namely. New York, Philadelphia, Bos-
ton, and Bardstown."
Addressing the faithful in the new dioceses now
passing under other spiritual heads. Archbishop CaiToll
says : " To multiply the means of salvation and increase
vigilance over the sacred interests of religion, bishops
ever present and near to them are now to be given to
the separate portions of this once so extensive diocese,
Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and ye vast countries
of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The Lord has
spoken to Peter, Peter by his successors to Pius VII.,
and the apostolical succession begins after so many ages
to display itself to you, that it may be continued
through your chief pastors, even to the remotest jjos-
terity."
For the See of Ncav York, that illustrious Pope se-
lected a learned, able, and courageous Irish priest, well
known at Rome, and particularly dear to the Holy Father,
EARLY HISTORY 37
Father Richard Liike Concauen, of the Order of St.
Dominic, whose mei'it had ah-eady caused his uoinination
to a see in Irehmd, and who had been prior of con-
vents of his order at Lisbon and Rome, and Librarian
of the famous Casanate Library.
He was consecrated at Rome on the 24th of A^jril,
1808, by Cardinal Antonelh, Prefect of the Congregation
of the Propaganda. The CathoHcs of New York looked
forward with pleasure to the reception of so illustrious a
prelate, and great hopes for Catholicity were entertained.
But all were dashed, as months passed and no tidings
came. At last it was learned that Napoleon had pre-
vented his embarkation from Ital}' ; and ere long New
York, which had put on its robes of gladness to welcome
its first bishop, had to put on those of mourning, for
the sad news came that their bishop had died mysteri-
ously at Naples, in 1810, as he was at last on the
point of embarking for his see. This was a sad blow
to the new diocese ; and, as the sovereign Pontiff was
hurried off from Rome a captive, it was impossible for
some years to fill the vacancy and give the wido■\^'ed
Church of New York a bishop.
New York was thus left in a wretched condition —
a diocese without a bishop, with none to guide and
direct, as only a bishop can. Zealous Jesuits came,
and, aided by a few priests Avho joined them, projected
woi"ks on which the progress of religion depended. The
38 INTRODUCTION.
corner-stone of a new church was laid. The Dominicans
whom the late bishojD intended to bring were indeed
sent elsewhere, with the means he had collected ; but
Trappists sought to foimd a house here. The Jesuits
opened a college ; and Ursuline nims from the Island of
Saints crossed the Atlantic to begin one of their suc-
cessful academies for training young ladies to all the
accomplishments, virtue, purity, and self-sway of a truly
Cliristian maiden.
But all such institutions needed the fostering care of
a bishop. Tliose in New York lacked it. They faded
away, leaving the Catholics disheartened and discouraged.
EARLY HISTORY. 39
RT. REV. JOHN CONNOLLY,
OF THE ORDER OF ST. DOMES^IC,
SECOND BISHOP OF NEW YORK.
NAPOLEON, dazzled and elated by the career of
^-ictory whicli Heaven granted to liis 'arms,
thought that all things, human and divine, must bend to
his will. The courageous Pontiff, Pius VII., was torn
from his see. Napoleon fell, as if struck by the lightnings
of Heaven. The crime and the punishment were evident
to the whole world.
By one of those sti-ange dispositions of Providence,
which no human mind can foresee, the power of Protest-
ant England was employed to restore Pope Pius VII. tg
Rome. Wlien the affairs of the Church could be resumed,
he resolved to give New York a bishop at once. Again
he looked to the sons of faithful Ireland. The Rev.
Father John Connolly, of the Order of St. Dominic and
prior of St. Clement's Convent in Rome, where he had
spent much of his life, was appointed Bishop of New
York. He was consecrated in Rome, Nov. 6, 1814, but
did not reach New York till the 24th day of the same
month, in the following year. He is the first of otn-
40 INTRODUCTION.
hierarchy who came to us consecrated in the Eternal City.
He was received with great joy by his flock, happy at
last to have a bishop in their midst. He found in his large
diocese at least seventeen thousand Catholics, scattei'ed far
and wide, with only fom- priests to aid him in ministering
to them ; and two of these were soon withdi-awn from
him. All the institutions projected by the zealous mis-
sionaries and begmi by the devoted Catholics of New
Y(5rk had ^-anished. Evervthing was to be created anew
bv Mm, and the burden Avas immense. He did not
slu'ink from the toil which would have appalled many a
younger man, but bravely undertook the discharge of the
duties imposed on him by the sovereign Pontiff.
He was a native of Drogheda, having been bom
in the year 1750. He had studied in Ireland, then in
Belgium, and finally entering the Order of St. Dominic,
to which he felt that God called him, he was sent to
St. Clement's Convent in Rome. His life had been one
of constant, active ser^nce, and he was for years the
agent of the Irish bishops in Rome.
He visited his native land on his way, less to see
liis kindred than to appeal to the zeal of priest and Levite
to join him in the field of his labors. Faithful Ireland
could not see her children in America exposed to lose the
faith. Bishop Connolly obtained for his diocese several
^oriests full of zeal for man and lo^'e for God, and some
candidates for holv orders, on whom he soon conferred
EARLY HISTORY. 41
the priesthood; New York then fii-st witnessing the confer-
ring of that great sacrament by which the apostoHc
powers are continued in the Church. He made visitations
of his diocese, erecting shi'ines of rehgion in Utica and
Rochester, thus taking possession of Central and West-
ern Xew York, where in early times the Jesuit Fathers
had their flourishing missions among the fierce Iroquois.
The Orphan Asylum in New York City, which has
so long been a home to the fatherless, was established by
him, and placed under the direction of Sisters of Charity
from the community founded by Mother Seton, to whom,
doubtless, as hei'self a native of his diocese, he appealed
for aid in terms which she could not refuse.
He went to Baltimore in 1817, to attend the conse-
cration of the Rev. Ambrose Marechal as Bishop of Stau-
ropolis and coadjutor to Ai-chbishop Neale. The ceremony
was performed by Bishop Cheverus, Bishop Connolly and
the Very Rev. ]\Ir. DeBarth as assistants. His retm'n to
his diocese, so ill provided with priests, must have made
his bm-den seem all the more onerous after witnessing
the Seminary and other institutions at Baltimore. The
* yellow fever, which soon afflicted New York, found liim,
however, zealous and um-emitting in the parochial labors
he was compelled to discharge ; and in those days of
trial he showed all the heroism of the 2irlest, and, were
that possible, more than liis usual charity and benevo-
lence.
42 INTRODUCTION.
His next great effort was to • secure more Sisters, in
order to place the charity schools under their care.
But if his labors were great and his resources were
small, he was gladdened by the reception of converts
into the Chm'ch, several of them clergymen of Prot-
estant denominations. Bishop Hobart, of the Episcopal
Church, enjoyed the friendship of Dr. Connolly, and e\'i-
dently was approaching the light of truth. When Dr. Hobart
went to Europe, he -sasited one of liis former ministers, who
had become a priest and entered a religious community
in Em'ope, and he bore lettei's from Bishop Connolly to
friends in Rome. He never became a Catholic, but his
daughter died in the faith, the wife of one who left a
bishopric in the Episcopal Chvu'ch to enter the fold of
Clu-ist.
In 1824, Bishop Connolly, feeling the weight of years
and his severe mission labors, solicited the Holy See to
give him a coadjutor, and to appoint his faithful eolaborer,
the Rev. Michael O'Gorman ; but before the question
could be acted U2:»on, the zealous first-ordained priest of
New York fell sick and died at the bishop's house ; and
within a week a second priest was bm'ied from the same
dwelling. At Rev. Mr. O'Gorman's funei'al the aged bishop
contracted a severe cold which prosti-ated him, and led to
a fatal malady. Yet he struggled through the winter,
discharging the duties wliicli had now increased beyond
the ability of a priest in the jjrime of life and strength.
EARLY HISTORY. 43
He officiated till within a week of his death, and ex-
pired on the evening of Sexagesima Sunday, February 6th,
1825, at his residence, 512 Bowery. His body was taken
to St. Peter's, and lay in state there till the 9th, when
it was conveyed to his cathedral.
Almost at the close of his career, in which he had
many and grievous trials, his jieople, in a public resolu
tion, declared that he justly possessed the confidence of
all, and that his wisdom, piety and zeal had excited the
admiration of their fellow-citizens ; that Ids conduct, man-
ners and example recalled to their minds what we read
of primitive simplicity in the history of the apostles of
the earlier ages. And he won this esteem, not by bril-
liant or showy gifts, but by his solid virtue, his zeal,
devotedness, and charity.
44 INTRODUCTION.
RT. REV. JOHN DU BOIS, D.D.,
THIRD BISHOP OF NEW YORK.
THE prelates whom we have thus briefly sketched
had been selected in Rome, and set out, with
the blessing of the Holy Father and consecration in the
Eternal City, to a diocese and a flock in a strange and
distant land. The Rev. John Du Bois, who was appointed
Bishop of New York in 182(3, was one already identified
with the Church in the United States by years of labor
as a zealous missionary priest, by the foundation and
du-ection of ]\Iomit St, j\Iary's College at Emmittsburg,
whicli has been to this day the Alma Mater of thousands
of highly cultured Catholic gentlemen, and the seminary
which has filled the country with well-trained and zealous
priests. He had, too, under God, been greatly instru-
mental in guiding to success Mother Seton's labors to
establish the Sisters of Charity in America. Few men
were better known to the bishops and clergy of the
United States, or more highly esteemed.
Schoolfellow of RobespieiTC, he was one of the faith-
ful priests whom France, fallen into the hands of such
men, drove from her shores. Bishop Du Bois came to
EAELY HISTORY. 45
New York full of years and experience ; known, respect-
ed, revered. He was consecrated at Baltimore, Oct. 29,
182G, his episcopal cross and ring- Laving been the gift
of the illustrious Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He found
immense wants. The Catholic emigration increased rapidly.
Short-sighted men, under the old trustee system, with
mistaken views of their rights and duties, were blindly
crippling the Clnu-ch, and preventing its usefulness. Fa-
naticism had been aroused among the Protestant bodies,
miprincipled men seeking popularity by wild attacks on
the Church, and the basest and most disgraceful inventions
and forgeries. But amid all the oppositions, Bisho2> l3u Bois
went bravely on. Able theologians and controversialists,
like Varela and Le\nns, vindicated Catholic truth a)id ex-
posed the hollowness of Protestantism as a system. The
eloquent voice of a Power called forth resources for the
orjihans. The Bishop labored to endow liis diocese with
a second Mount St. Mary's ; but, though he failed in this,
religion generally prospered. He visited all parts of his
diocese, and encouraged the building of chm-ches where-
ever one could possibly exist, obtaining aid from Rome,
and from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
So rapid was the i)rogress of the faith during his episco-
pate, that every year beheld new chm^ches rising. Yet he
was not fitted by age to cope with the difficulties at-
tendant on the rapid increase of Catholics, mainly, then,
by emigration from Ireland.
46 INTRODUCTION.
He was a man of sixty, having been born in Paris,
August 24, 1764, of respectable and wealtliy pai-ents. A
pious and truly Clu'istian mother had trained him in
childhood ; liis faith had been confii'med and deepened
under the tuition of the Jesuit Fathers, at the College of
liOuis le Grand. Thoug-h the world was seething- with
coming revolution, and that very college numbered among
its scholars men who were to figure as the most impious
and cruel wretches of the French Revolution, young
Du Bois devoted himself to the ser^^ce of God. Trained
in the Seminary of St. Magloire, he was ordained in
1787. He was at once charged with duties. Besides
being cin-ate at St. Sulpice, he was chaplain of an ex-
tensive Asylum for the Insane and for (Orphans. Amid
all the hoiTors of the Revolution, he stood at his post,
till friends showed Mm that it was his duty to fly.
NaiTowly escaping death, he reached a vessel for the
United States, and landed at Norfolk, in Virginia, in 1791.
Bishop Carroll received liim to liis anus, and with letters
from Lafayette to Monroe, Pati'ick Henry, the Lees and
Randolphs, Mr. Du Bois began missions at Norfolk and
Richmond. He supported liimself by teaching while min-
istering to liis flock. After a time, Frederick became
the scene of his labors, and here he began a church;
but in 1805 he took possession of Mount St. Mary's, and
reared a log cabin, which was soon rej)laced by a brick
church. Then a school rose beside his chapel of the
EARLY HISTORY. 47
woods. The blessing of God was on it, and it grew,
giving priests to tlie Cluu-ch and well-trained citizens to
the State. Such had been his life of devotedness to
his sacred calling. ^Making the visitation of his diocese,
he fovmd Catholics where he was led to expect none;
hundi-eds, where he was told they were numbered by
tens. Impressed with the great necessities of his flock,
he went to Europe to solicit aid. He endeavored to
give his people chiu'ches, priests, schools.
He found but two churches in New York City.
Under the influence of his zeal, the Catholic faithful, with
their wonted devotion and liberality, soon reared St. Mary's,
Clu'ist Church, St. Joseph's, St. Nicholas, St. James, and
St. Paul's at Harlem.
Eminently a man of action. Bishop Du Bois was
ipiick, and, to some, seemed to rule with too strict a
hand ; but to the faithful who came to him A\atli their
cares and solicitudes, and to the young Avhom he loved
to instruct, he was all kindness and indidgence ; con-
soling, -winning, impelling all to virtue and sacrifice.
But liis severe labors in early life, with the burden
of the episcopate, told on his constitution. He solicited
a coadjutor from the Holy See ; and, soon after the ap-
pointment of Bishop Hughes, in 1837, Dr. Du Bois was
struck with paralysis while walking in the street. From
the effects of this he never fully recovered, and by the
advice and wish of the Sovereign Pontiff, resigned the
48 INTEODUCTION.
administration of his diocese to his coadjutor. He passed
liis remaining years in preparing to render an account
of a Avell-spent Hfe. Bishop Du Bois died in the episcopal
residence at New York, December 20, 1842, full of years
and merits, and was laid beside his predecessor beneath
the Cathedi'al.
i
ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF NEW YORK. 49
MOST REVEREND JOHN HUGHES, D.P.,
FOURTH BISHOP, AND FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK.
THE clergyman selected as coadjutor to tlie vener-
able Bishop Du Bois, was one of his old pupils,
who had, as a priest of Philadelphia, evinced not only
theological learning, hut remarkable dialectic skill, and a
deep knowledge of the time and country, and that fitness
for governing men so frequently conspicuous in the Nor-
man-Irish race, to which, like Wellington and Palmerston,
he belonged.
As coadjutor, bishop, and finally archbishop of New
York, he restored the true polity of the Church, and hj
his singular tact and skill, overcame difficulties and put
an end to false systems that had baffled others, and
seemed to many ineradicable. In exposing the doctrines
of the Church, he was clear, lucid, and timely. When-
ever any question of the day aflPected Catholic interests,
he was outspoken, frank, decisive, and vigorous. To our
Protestant countrymen, he was the great representative
of Catholic thought, and his utterances, copied througli
the press of the country, were read by men of all creeds
and every shade of political opinion.
4
50 , ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
What Cfitholicity in New York owes to " Bishop
Hughes" can hardly be estimated. He taught his flock
that the best road to secure the respect of their non-
Cathohc countrymen was to be sincerely and frankly con-
sistent, practical Catholics; and as American citizens, to
assert their claim to all rights conferred on them by the
Constitution, while showing that they were worthy to ex-
ercise them.
John Hughes, bom at Annalogan, in the County
Tyrone, Ireland, June 24th, 1707, had from boyhood
longed and prayed to God to be allowed to become a
priest. There seemed no answer to the prayer, for his
brief terms at a grammar school, where he made rapid
progress in English studies, were interrupted and broken
off by the necessity for his helping hand on liis father's
farm. His father's emigration to America, followed by
liis own in 1817, opened a brighter prosjiect to the young
man. The enticements of independence in the New
World did not lure liim from his choice of the sanctuary.
As soon as he became aware of the character of Mount
St. Mary's, he applied for admission, ready to enter on
any terms, or undertake any position, so that he was
allowed to study for the priesthood. There was no posi-
tion open but that of gardener. With characteristic en-
ergy, he did not hesitate a moment, and began his
course of Latin privately amid his plants and floAvers.
There was no mistaking his vocation. Dr. Brute en-
OF NEW YORK. 51
rolled him among the regular scholars, though young
Hughes stoutly held to his agreement hy retaining the
superintendence of the garden. He rapidly passed over
the usual classical and mathematical course, to tind in
philosoph}' and theolog}' his real element. As teacher
and j^refect, he showed coolness, ability, and discretion ;
making himself master of the dispositions and capacity of
those committed to his charge.
Even before his ordination, he evinced his skill in
controversy by an able answer, in the Catholic Miscel-
lamj to an attack on the CHiurch. He was ordained at
Philadelphia, in St. Joseph's, the oldest Catholic Church,
October 15, 182G, and then spent some time with the
Rev. Dr. Hurley, an Augustiuian, who had already taken a
deep interest in the young priest. After a brief pas-
torate in Bedford, he was called by Bishop Conwell to St.
Joseph's, Philadelphia, and was for a time at St. Mary's,
during the sad days wliich befell that Chm-ch. His elo-
quence won him a host of admirers, and his judgment
and prudence secm-ed him the support of all. One of
his projects was a Catholic Tract Society, for which he
wrote the extremely jjopular work, " Andrew Dunn."
He founded St. John's Asylum for Orphans, and was ever
ready to meet attacks on religion with his clear and
logical answers.
He attended, in 1829, the first Provincial Council
held in this country, being theologian to the Administra-
A. LIBRARY ^^^
^ MANHABSET. N. Y.
52 ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
tor of Pliiladelj)liia, while Bishop Conwell, at Rome, lU'ged
liis name as one fitted to become liis coadjutor. He
erected St. John's Chmx'h, in Philadeljihia, which was
dedicated in 1832, and soon after engaged in a written and
afterwards in an oral controversy with the Rev. John Breck-
enridge, dien considered the ablest advocate of the Cal-
vdnist denomination in the United States. The consummate
ability of Rev. Mr. Hughes, in presenting the Catholic
argument, with telling force, was felt by all, and by no
one more deeply than the Rev. Mr. Breckenridge, who,
of course, claimed the victory, but who found that he
had lost all his prestige.
On the recommendation of the Baltimore Council of
1837, the Rev. Mr. Hughes was selected as the coadjutor
to the venerable Bishop Du Bois of New York. On the
26th of November he was consecrated, in St. Patrick's
Cathedral, New York, Bishop of Basileopolis, m x}artibus
hifidcUum, by Bishop Du Bois, assisted by Bishop Fen-
wick of Boston and Bishop Kenrick t)f Philadelphia. The
care of the diocese soon devolved upon him, by the ill-
ness of the venerable Bishop, and he at once appeared
before the Catholic body as their leader.
The best element in the Church at once rallied around
liim ; the rest were soon conscious that anv struffSfle
would be too unequal. He found the churches in the
diocese ill administered in their temporalities and loaded
with debt. By various means he labored to rescue them
OF NEW YORK. 53
fi'om (lanrrer, and by a sounder system place them in a
healthy and prosperous condition.
Education was ever dear to him. A college begun
by Bishop Du Bois, at Nyack, was destroyed by fire soon
after its opening, and difficulties had prevented any new
attempt ; but, in 1839, Bishop Hughes secm-ed a fine
property at Fordham, and established St. John's College,
which has continued to this day to be the leading Catho-
lic Universit}' of the State.
During a voyage to Europe, in wHch he secm-ed
aid for liis diocese in many forms, he obtained also
several Ladies of the Sacred Heart, in order to found
an academy of the highest grade for young ladies ; and
their institution, originally at Astoria, but for many years
back at i\Ianhattanville, has long enjoyed the highest
reputation among Protestants as well as Catholics.
Dm'ing liis absence, an attempt was made by the
Very Rev. Dr. Power, and other clergymen, to recover
for the Catholic parochial schools the proportion of the
education money which had for many years been allowed
to them. The school question was before the pubhc
when he returned. Before a committee of the Common
Coimcil, he, by a most brilliant argument, maintained
the justice of the Catholic claim, against great lawyers
retained by the Public School Society, and distinguished
clergymen of the ]\Iethodist, Presbyterian, and Dutch Re-
formed bodies. The Common Coimcil rejected the petition
54 ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
of the Catholics, really without consideration of the merits
of the question.
An appeal to the Legislatiu'e led to a less prejudiced
system than had liitherto ruled New York City. The
great defect of the new system was that it excluded all
i-eligion from the public schools. But much was gained
in regard to the school-books and the teaching. What-
ever may be the errors of individuals, a Catholic child
cannot legally be compelled to learn, as a school-lesson,
an insult to his religion, or anything contrary to its
teachings. But this point was not gained without an
event unparalleled in our history. The candidates of the
two political parties then dividing the countiy pledged
themselves, if elected, to oppose the Catholic claim. The
Catholics, who met at Carroll Hall to agitate the ques-
tion, had no alternative except to put forward candidates
of their own. The Bishop's action drew upon him the
coarsest vituperation and abuse. But the Catholic ticket
polled so large a vote as to show party leaders that
Catholic citizens were not blind tools in their hands, but
men who knew their rights.
In 1841 Bishop Hughes convened the first Diocesan
Synod of New York, and established many wise rales
which bore abundant fruit for the good of souls.
Emigration and the natm-al growth of the Catholic
body had constantly swelled the number of the faithful ;
churches were springing up in all parts of the diocese.
OF NEW YORK. 55
and there was an urgent demand f(ir priests. Finding
the burden too great, Ijishop Hughes obtained a coad-
jutor in the person of tlie Rt. Rev. Jolui jMcCloskey.
Tliat tlie native American agitation and outbreak of 1844
did not injure New York, was due mainly to the de-
termined character of the Bisliop and the manHness of
his flock.
When the pubUc mind had I'egained its usual sanity,
he pursued his plan of increasing the efficiency of the
Catholic schools. He obtained several Fathers of the
Society of Jesus, in 1846, and endeavored to secure a
Commmiity of Brothers devoted to teaching.
Finding that, even with a coadjutor, it ^\-as impos-
sible to meet the wants of his diocese, he solicited from
the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore, which he at-
tended, a division of liis diocese. The Holy See, at the
request of the assembled Fathers, accordingly established
the Sees of Albany and Buffalo.
War was then raging with Mexico, and Government
offered to Bishop Hughes a diplomatic appointment, in
the hope of restoring peace ; but as the position would
have been an anomalous one, and not likely to be pro-
ductive of good, it was declined.
He reorganized the Sisters of Charity in his diocese,
who then separated from the Emmittsbm'g Community ;
and they have since prospered in a way to justify the
wisdom of the regulations he inspired.
56 ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
The Provincial Council held at Baltimore in 1849
recommended the elevation of New York to a Metropol-
itan See, and on the 3d of October, 1850, Pope Pius
IX., by a brief, advanced Dr. Hughes to the dignity of
an archbishop. The step was follo^ved by the establish-
ment of the dioceses of Brooklyn and Newark, leav-
ing to the Archbishop the City of New York and the
counties on the Hudson. Under his care, now confined
to these, religion made rapid progress. New York be-
held a Provincial Council of the Chm-ch assemble in its
venerable cathedi-al ; an Ai'chbishop surrounded by seven
suffragans. The proceedings were, in their magnificence,
a striking proof of what had been accomplished dm-ing
his episcopate.
Archbishop Hughes was one of the Fathers Avho
stood aroimd the immortal Pope Pius IX. when he de-
fined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, December
8, 1854. He was deeply impressed by that grand gath-
ering of the Catholic episcopate, and on his return, by
his eloquent portrayal of the dogma and its definition,
as well as the universal testimony to the belief of the
world, aroused anew the piety of the Catholics of New
York.
The old Protestant alarm was excited. The Catholic
Church was increasing too fast. Erastus Brooks opened
the attack, and though the Archbishop exposed the fallacy
of his statements and arguments, the Legislature passed
OF NEW YORK. 57
an act — unconstitutional, of coui'se — by virtue of wliicli,
in more than one case, property bought by the iVrch-
bishop at a judicial sale, and paid for by him, would
be given back without any consideration to the very
parties whose interest had been sold by order of a court
of law. The absurd act ^vas soon repealed, as may well
be imagined.
Ai'chbishop Hughes sought to resign his liigh office
and spend the rest of his days in retu-ement ; but the
Pope waraily dissuaded him from such a step, and he
bore the bm-den to the end. He had long felt that
New York shoiild possess a cathedral worthy of the faith,
and of the great city. Providentially, the trustees of St.
Patrick's Cathedral possessed a block of groimd sold by
the Corporation of New York nearly a centm-y ago, and
more than fifty years since, occupied for a time by a
Catholic college. The street on which it fronted — Fifth
Avenue — had become the most desii-able one in New York.
On this he resolved to commence a cathedi-al so grand
that the plans called for three-f{uarters of a million of dol-
lars. He laid the comer-stone in 1858, with great pomp,
and adopted the plans di-awn up by Mr. Ren^ick for
the edifice. He aroused the zeal of the wealthier Cath-
olics to carry on so noble a work, and contributions
came freely in, till the outbreak of the ci^-il war para-
lyzed the coimtry.
Tlie new Cathedi-al, however, did not di-aw from
58 AECHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
other and necessary claims. Religion and charity were
never more earnestly attended to, and in the trials which
began to gather around the Holy Father, the voice and
exertions of" Archbishop Hughes were prompt and decisive.
Sympathy and material aid were alike afforded.
The civil war induced the Govermiient at Washington
for a second time to iu*ge on Ai-chbishop Hughes a quasi
diplomatic mission. Tl>e existence of the country, to whose
well-being he had given his manhood and his talents,
was imperiled. He ^dsited Em'ope, and did much to
cultivate a friendly feeling towards the United States.
During his stay in Europe, he took part in the as-
semblage of the bishops at Rome, on the occasion of the
canonization of the Japanese martyrs. His health was,
however, much impaired. It declined after liis return ;
and he was unable to perform any public functions, or
even say mass. The disease gradually prostrated him,
and he expired on the 3d of January, 1864.
He was eminentlv a great man. None, not even
Bishop England, ever exercised such influence over Ms
own countrymen, and Catholics generally throughout the
United States ; and that influence was never exerted for
his own aggrandizement, but unselfishly for their best
interests.
OF NEW YORK. 59
HIS EMINENCE JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY,
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY, SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK,
CARDINAL PRIEST OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH,
UNDER THE TITLE OF SANCTA MARIA
SUPRA MINERVAM.
THE Church of New York, orphaned by the death
of the ilhistrloiis Archbishop Hughes, was now
for the first time couiniitted, in the providence of God,
to one born witliin the diocese — born when that diocese,
embracing more than the whole State, had but two
churches. His hfe may ahnost span the rise and progress
of the Catliohc comnnniity in the Empire State.
Born in Brooklyn, March 10, 1810, the young son
of two emigrants from Derry Avas carried over to St.
Peter's Church, to receive the waters of baptism ; for
Brooklvn had then no clnu-ch and no priest to baptize
the future cardinal. As a boy, he crossed the river in
a row-boat on Sunday, to hear mass in St. Peter's. At
the age of twehe he was sent to Mount St. Mar}''s, that
hive of priests, and, after a seven years' studious course,
was graduated.
He returned to his widowed mother, and debated
60 ARCHBISnOPS AND BISHOPS
with his own heart the great question of a choice of
state. The well-trained young American youth had tal-
ents and energy to command success. The world lay
tempting before liim ; but he resolved to devote his life
to the service of God, and returned to Mount St. Mary's,
where the President welcomed, as a seminarian, the grad-
uate whom he knew so well.
He was ordained priest in St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, New
York, January 12, 1834, but 2:)roceeded to Rome, where
for two years he attended the lectures at the Roman
College. With the ecclesiastical lore thus acquired, and
an insight into the management of the great affairs of
the Chm-ch in its capital, winning friends among those
then in office and among students soon to exercise high
functions, the young American priest was a type that
refuted the wild ideas of this country jjrevalent iu Eu-
rope.
A tour tlu"0ugh several countries added to his expe-
rience, and on his retm-n, in 1838, he was appointed
pastor of St. Joseph's Chm-ch, New York. Here he be-
came singularly beloved; and, when, in 1842, he was
named Rector of the Theological Seminary, his congrega-
tion felt the deepest anxiety. But they were soon to lose
him. He was selected as coadjutor to Archbishop Hughes ;
and when lie was consecrated, in St. Patrick's Cathedi-al,
March 10, 1844, the venerable Dr. Power — who had him-
self more than once administered the diocese, and was no
OF NEW YORK. 61
liiitterer — declMrcd, in liis sermon, addressing the newly-
consecrated l)isli()p, that, had the selection been left to the
clergy of the diocese, they Avould have chosen hhu.
For three years Bishop McCloskey continued to re-
side at St. Joseph's, discharging nnich of the episcopal
duty in regard to the general and special -sasitation of
parishes in distant parts of the State. AVlien the Dio-
cese of New York w^as di\'ided, he was translated to
the See of Albany, in May, 1847.
The oriranization of that diocese, and its harmonious
and successful progi-ess, prove how well, for seventeen
years, he directed it in the way of God. He found
much to be done ; but, \inder his gentle yet persever-
ing energy, schools, academies, asylums, and clnirches,
sprang up in all parts. The neglected and negligent were
gathered in; congregations, by the help of zealous priests,
gained new fervor, and a Catholic life, subtle in its power,
pervaded liis w^hole flock.
On the death of Archbishop Hughes, the voice of the
bishops of the province coincided with the wish of the
deceased, and the desire of the clergy, expressed yeais
before and still unchanged, although so long a time had
passed. He returned to New York as its second arch-
bishop. What he has accomplished is too well known
to need detailing here at length. Under his care, the
Catholic Protectory, fur the rescue of unfortunate childi'en
from vice, has grown to be an immense organization,
62 ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
without an equal in the country ; as great a blessing to
the State as it is iin honor to the Church.
Archbishop McCloskey, as soon as peace dawned
again on the land, resumed the work on the new Cathe-
di'al, and has lived to see its completion. He earn-
estly encouraged the erection of new chmxhes in his
diocese, and especially in this city, in order to divide
the labor which had outgrown the capacity of the paro-
chial clergy. His learning and zeal benefited the whole
Church in this country, by his influence in the second
Plenary Council, held at Baltimore in 18(56, Avhere so
much was accomplished to form a distinct code of doc-
trine and discipline for use in the numerous dioceses
now covering the country.
These decrees, with those of the Councils held in
the Province of New York, he solemnly promulgated as
the law of his diocese, in a Synod held at New York
in September, 1868; and special rules were laid down
regarding the administration of the sacraments, the cele-
bration of the Holy Sacrifice, and all that coidd lend
dignity to the Avorship of God. Ho earnestly recom-
mended liis clergy to arouse piety by frequent missions
and the diffusion of good books.
The Ai-chbishop of New York was soon called to
more conspicuous labors. In the Council of the Vati-
can, convened by the Sovereign Pontiff Pope Pius IX.,
on the 8th of December, 1869 — the fii-st General Council
OF NEW YORK. (53
of the Cliurch since the close of thut hehl at Treat —
Arclibisliop McCloske}' was a proniiiieut figure, no less
respected for his great ecclesiastical learning, and the
matured experience of a long episcopate, than for the
mild and gentle firmness in upholding the truth that al-
ways characterized him.
Tlie seizure of Eome by Victor Emanuel made the reas-
sembling of the Council for the time impossible, and Arch-
bishop McCloskey was again amid his flock, guiding them, in
his peaceful and quiet way, to the haven of eternal life.
Tlie Catholic Chm-ch in the United States had erown
during the pontificate of Pius IX. to magnificent propor-
tions. Her archbishops and bishops had, in the Council
of the Vatican, evinced learning, devotion to the Church,
a freedom in the expression of their theological opinions,
which attested alike their sincerity and the perfect free-
dom of debate. It was no wonder, then, that this new-
bora Church, with its hierarchy less than a centmy old,
attracted the attention of the whole Catholic world.
To manifest his regard for the Chm"ch in the United States,
which had ever been so . grateful to him — and outspoken
in its attachment, and liberal in his hour of need — the
immortal Pope Pius IX. resolved to call one of the
bishops to a place in the Sacred College.
There was universal joy when it was known that,
in the Consistory held March 15, 1875, the Holy Father
had created Archbishop McCloskey a Cardinal Priest of
CA ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
the Holy Roman Church. Announcing tliis promotion in
his joui'nal at Rome, the able and eloquent Monsignor
Nardi wi-ote : —
Among the prelates about to be promoted to the pm'ple,
Pius IX. has given a new example in selecting for that honor
an American prelate. We need not say here anything in
praise of Mgr. McCloskey. There is no American Catholic
who does not know him. After performing \^■ith wisdom and
meekness his duties over the Diocese of Albany he was trans-
ferred to New York, first as coadjutor and then as successor to
the illustrious Archbishop Hughes, who left behind him a great
and beavitiful memory. In the ten years which Archbishop
McCloskey has governed this diocese — the most im])ortant in
the United States — he has invigorated and strengthened
Catholic institutions, has almost completed a magnificent ca-
thedral, which will be the most beautiful in America, and has
won for himself the esteem and the lo^'e of all. It is just,
therefore, that such an honor should be bestowed upon him.
But not only Archbishop McCloskey is it that the Holy
Father thus seeks to honor In the elevation to the greatest
dignity of the Cliurch, he intends, certainly, first and foremost,
to reward him ; but none the less likewise to honor the great,
generoiis, and faithful Catholics of America.
The insignia of his high dignity were at once sent,
and, for the first time in the history of the Chiu-ch, the
emblems of the cardinalate were borne across the Atlantic.
On tlie 7th of April, 1875, Comit Marefoschi, of the
Pope's Noble Guard, in his brilliant unift)rm, presented to
Ai-chbishop McCloskey, at liis residence in Madison Avenue,
OF NEW YORK. 65
a letter from Ciirdinal Antonelli, aud a case containing
the zuccetto, or sknll-cap, addressing him an elegant fe-
licitation in Latin. The Cardinal responded, in the same
language, and then Monsignor Roncetti, the Papal ab-
legate, entered with his secretary. Dr. Ubaldi, and, address-
ing his Eminence in French, congi'atulated him and the
Catholics of America, whom the Holy Father wished to
honor by this appointment. He asked Cardinal McCloskey
to fix a day for the formal presentation of the berretta.
On the 22nd of April, 1875, this ceremony took place
in St. Patrick's Cathedi'al. The clun-ch had never before
witnessed its equal. The sanctuary was di'aped in scarlet,
and filled with members of the Catholic hierarchy of the
United States ; their rich mitres and copes contrasting
with the gay uniform of C-ount Marefoschi ; priests filled
the nave, wliile the pews revealed persons of distinction
in every path of life — tlie brilliant, the accomplished, the
wealthy; those moving in the higher and more Immble
walks of life — all animated by a feeling of respect for
the Cardinal, and of gratitude to Pope Pius IX.
The Cardinal was seated on his tlu'one, calm and
gentle, as is his wont. Opposite, nlmost surrounded by
flowers, was Archbishop Bayley of Baltimore, who, as
holding the most ancient see with almost primatial honors,
was to impose the ben-etta on the head of the Cardinal.
After a Pontifical High Mass, celebrated l)y Bishop
Loughlin of Brooklyn, Cardinal McCloskey advanced to
5
66
AllCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
the gospel side of the altar. Archbishop Bayley arose,
and took a position in front of the altar. Dr. Ubaldi
then received from Count Marefoschi a parchment roll,
from which he read to the Archbishop of Baltimore his
authority to confer the beiTetta ; foUo^ving it by the reading
of a second roll to Cardinal McCloskey. After these official
documents, Monsignor Roncetti addressed the Cardinal, and
then approached Archbishoji Bayley, who had been ap-
pointed Apostolic Delegate. After replying to the ablegate,
the Archbishop of Baltimore addressed Cardinal McCloskey
as follows : —
Your Eminence — Our Holy Father the Pope has con-
ferred upon me a great honor in appointing me Apostolic
Delegate to give to your Eminence this mark of the eminent
dignity to which you have been raised, and I value it the more
because it affords me an opportunity of exjjressing publicly
my sentiment of affection and veneration towards your per-
son and charactei'. There were rimiors in times gone by that
it was contemplated to bestow this honor upon certain eminent
prelates, and especially upon yom* distinguished predecessor,
to whom the Catholics of these United States owe so great a
debt of gratitude. It is an honor, I may say it now, which we
had in some manner a right to expect, on account of the number
of Catholics and the importance of the Catholic Chm-ch in the
United States. We had a right to exj^ect it also on account of
the greatness of oiu* country ; the position it occupies among
the nations of the earth, and the infliience it is to exert over the
future destinies of the human race. It was right and proper
also that we should have a representative among the intimate
OF NEW YOKK. gT
councilors of tlio Holy Father. There is nothing anomalous
or contrary to the principle of our Republic that we should have
in oiu' midst a Cardinal of the Holy Church, and we are con-
fident that your appointment will continue to be regarded, as
it is now regarded, a new element of strength and harmony to
all. We congratulate your Eminence on your appointment
to so high an office. It will increase your cares and responsi-
bilities, but it will also inci-ease your means of usefulness as
an honored citizen of the Republic and a faithful bishoj) of
the Chm-ch of God, and it will give new brightness to the
crovni of glory which God, the righteous Judge, will bestow
upon you on that day when He will render to every one ac-
cording to his works.
He then took the beiTetta from the salver, and, ad-
vancing to Cardinal McCloskey, placed it on his head.
The new Cardinal's return of thanks to Archbishop Bayley,
and a beautiful address to the people, followed by a Te
Deum, closed the remarkable ceremony.
His singular elevation made no change in the life
or duties of the Cardinal. He soon after Agisted Rome,
where other ceremonies of usage fctlloA\ed, and he for-
mally took possession of the Church of Santa Maria
sopra Minerva, of which he bears the title.
On the death of the great Pope, Cardinal McCloskey
was STunmoned to the Conclave, and crossed the ocean ;
but the voice of the Sacred College had, guided by the
Holy Ghost, selected a Sovereign Pontiff in the person
of Pope Leo XIII. before he reached Rome. He pro-
68 AECHBISHOrS AND BISHOPS
ceeded to the Etcriuil City to pay liomag-e to the new
Pope, and from his hands received the Cardinal's Hat —
the List ceremonial connected with liis appointment.
His return to his diocese was marked by a most
imposing reception in the Catliedi-al, on the 29th of May,
1878.
After the chanting of the anthem, Ecce Sacerdos
Magnus, the Vicar General, in the name of the clerg}^ of
his diocese, read an addi-ess of congratulation most appro-
priate in feeling and language. The Hon. John McKeon,
in the name of the laity, then addressed his Eminence,
and his words may well close this sketch, as the sincere
feeling of his whole diocese: —
YouE Eminence — To me has been assigned the gratifying
duty of presenting to you, on behalf of the Catholic laity of
this city and diocese, their congi'atulations on yom* safe return
from the Eternal City. Many more worthy than myself
might have been selected for tliis honorable position, but you
will permit me to say none could perform it with more sincere
affection toward yourself personally. It is difficult to express
the deep-seated reverence and love which are entertained for
you by the large and faithful flock committed to your pastoral
care, and you can well understand how embarrassed any indi-
vidual must be, as the organ of such a body, in giving
expression to their feelings. Born in our midst, your course
in life from childhood has been before us. It has been
conspicuously marked with piety and zeal. You have
discharged "with meek and quiet spirit," but with an Impress-
ive efficiency, the functions of yom- sacred office as priest.
OF NEW YORK. 69
bishop, archbishop, and at hist cardinal, in such manner as
to seciu-e the affection and veneration of not only the peopU;
of your own flock, but also the admiration and esteem of those
who differ from you in religious faith. Clu-istian charit}' has
been uniformly developed in all your acts. We all know that
under your administration new temples have been erected to
the ever-living- God, and our seminaries of learning have been
increased in number. Homes for the rescue of the young from
destruction, refuges for the comfort of the old and hospitals f n*
the sick, have also been organized. In a word, numerous
works of religion, benevolence, and mercy stand forth as monu-
ments of yoiu" devotion to the cause of Catholicity. With
your kind permission, they are referi'ed to solely for the pm--
pose of expressing to you the sincere gratitude of the people
intrusted to yom* care for this yom* holy work.
To Pius IX. of inunortal memory the Catholic laity of
this diocese are indebted for having selected you as one of the
princes of the Chm-ch. Wlien the news of the death of this
great Pontiff reached us, the son-ow of the Catholics of your
diocese was deep and sincere. They remembered the higli
distinction confeiTcd upon them by his selection of yourself as
one of his Ecclesiastical Senate — that body to whom the
Supreme Pontiff may have recom'se for advice in the exercise
of his holy office, and upon whose demise rests the responsi-
bility of selecting his successor. From the earliest ages this
sacred council has been composed of those who have attained
a character for those qualities befitting the office. They were,
in the language of one of the earliest of the Popes, to be dis-
tino-uished men, their morals unimpeachable, their words
oracles, their expressions a rule of hfe and of thought to
others— the salt of the earth. The Council of Trent directed
70 ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
that the cardinals sliould be selected, as far as possible, from
all nations. The result is that by this system of selection the
great and holy office of chief of the great Clmstian Republic
is open to the humblest as well as the most exalted of man-
kind. Nothing could have been more touching than the
appeal made by the present Pontiff, Leo XIIL, in his address
to the College of Cardinals, on his election, when he told them
that they hold in the Church the place of the Seventy of
Israel ; and that he luimbly besought their prayers and co-
operation in his exhausting labors.
It was too a conclave of this Sacred College you were
summoned to attend to elect a successor of the late Pontiff".
While we regret that you were unable to arrive in time at the
Vatican to give expression to your choice, we still rejoice that
you had the happiness of being present at the installation of
the present Pope, and heard his declaration of the deej) sense
he felt of the solemn obligations assumed by liim, but yet with
a spirit filled with undying faith in brighter days for the Holy
Chm'ch.
The unanimity with Avhich the selection was made of the
distinguished prelate who was chosen, shows that the spirit of
the Holy Ghost directed the counsels of those on whom
responsibility rested.
We all are conscious that the period in which Leo XIIL
assumes his charge is but a continuation of the perilous scenes
tlu-ough wliich his predecessor passed. It is one fraught with
deep anxiety ; but the present Supreme Pontiff wiU be found
possessed of that wisdom and tnie religion which must
advance and protect the unity and efficiency of the Catholic
Chm-ch tlu-oughout the world. May we not hope that the day
is not far distant when they who are disaffected toward religion
OF NEW YORK. 7I
will learn from the example of ovir own country, that the peace
and prosperity of nations are best promoted h}' governments
leaving the exercise of religion — the ministi-ations of its rights
and every matter appertaining thereto — free and untrammeled
by governmental interference 1
For us, jonv childi'en, it is a satisfaction to know that at
the first Consistor}' held by Leo XIII. you had the privilege
of receiving at his hands the cardinal's hat, the emblem of the
great dignity confen-ed on you b)' his predecessor. To you
beloners the distinction of being the first cardinal selected for
the American continent. It Is also consoling to the laity to
know that you had the opportunity of informing the Holy
Father of the prosperity and wonderful increase of the Cath-
olic foith in the United States, to make known to lum our
peculiar wants, and to assure him of the undying devotion and
loyalty of the Catholics of this country to him as the spiritual
Head of the Chm-ch.
Once more in the name of your people we offer our hearty
welcome on your retm-n to your home in renewed health, and
Ave pray that yoiu* life may be spared to continue your labors,
to enjoy the respect and love of all, and to stand forth as the
ornament, the honor, and glor}' of the Chm"ch.
72
PASTOEAL LETTEE.
PASTORAL LETTER,
DEDICATING THE CHUKCHES OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW YORK
TO THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS.
Venerable Brethren of the Ckrgy and Beloved Brethren of the Laity :
Wishing to . have part with our bretliren of the epis-
copacy in the propagation of a pious and sakitary work,
and to make you sharers in the many spiritual privi-
leges and blessings which it brings with it, we have re-
solved, with the Divine assistance, to dedicate our re-
spective dioceses, together with all their churches, religious
houses, charitable and educational institutions, collectively
and singly, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. And we
have appointed accordingly, the approaching feast of the
Immaculate Conception, the great patronal festival of the
Church in these United States, as the day on which this
solenm act of consecration shall take place.
We feel sure that you will welcome this announce-
ment with sincerest pleasure. For in the gloomy and per-
ilous times upon which we have f;xllen, every new ray
of light, every fresh gleam of hope, every additional
source of strength and courage, is hailed with jo}'. Tin's
better light and hope, this additional strength and com--
DEDICATION OF THE CHURCHES. 73
age, will be given to you in the efficacious and beautiful
devotion to the Sacred Heart which it is the object of
this act of consecration to promote.
There is a moral darkness overspreading tlie earth.
The light of Divine Faith, the only true light to guide
our footsteps, has become obscured. In some places it is
burning dimly, in others it is wholly or well-nigh ex-
tinguished. Yet men are seen to " love the darkness
rather than the light, for their ways are evil." They
have risen in open revolt against God and against His
Christ ; against the supremacy of His dominion over the
minds and consciences of individuals and of nations. The
most essential truths of His revelation are rejected ; the
holiest mysteries of His religion are scoffed at and denied ;
the very life of Clu-istianity is threatened. Irreligion, in-
differentism, inibelief, with their attendant train of evils,
abound on every side. As a consequence, or rather as
a means to an end, the Church is persecuted. Her
Supreme Pastor is held in l)ondage. Her bishops and
priests, in certain 250'"tions of Europe, are forbidden the
exercise of their rightfvd jurisdiction and authority over
the members of their own flock ; some are proscribed
and exiled ; religious comnuniities are despoiled of their
property, driven from their homes, made subject to in-
dignities and hardships the most cruel and unjust. Even
the faithful laity are not spared. Although we, in our
free and favored country, are hajjpil}' protected from
74
PASTORAL LETTER.
extreme trials such as these, still, as children of the
Church, we are members of one body in Christ; and
when one member suffers all the members suffer with it.
Our sympathies, therefore, go out strongly and warmly
to oiu' struggling and afflicted brethren in other lands.
Our prayers are for them as well as with them. All
together we lift up our voices, saying, " How long, 0
Lord, how long!" "Thy arm alone is powerful to save."
Still we fear not, we do not despond. We "know in
whom we have trusted." We know His promises ; we
believe His word. " I am with you all days." " Upon
this rock I have built My Church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." Even now the voice of
the same Divine ]\Iaster, ever present in His Church, is
speaking to holy souls within her bosom words of sweet
comfort and encouragement; telling them whither they
shall go for help and jjrotection ; how best in the long
protracted struggle they may obtain courage to endure
and strength to overcome. If you hear not these words,
you still may learn their imj)ort from a practical re-
sponse that is given to them. Look around you, and
what do you behold 1 Almost everywhere you see bishops
and priests, religious men and women, holy servants of
God, devout believers, both of high and low degree,
coming together in pious confraternities, in associations
of prayer, in pilgrimages; and all, as if moved by one
common impulse, hasteniug to have recourse for succor
DEDICATION OF THE CHURCHES. 75
and protection to the compassionate Heart of Jesus. There
they confidently hope to find a sure asylum, a safe
refuge from every danger. There also is the never fail-
ing fountain of infinite love and mercy, the overflowing
soiu'ce of every grace and blessing. Let us hasten, then,
to this same Divine Heart, and we too " shall di'aw
waters with joA' from the fountains of the Saviour."
This, dear brethi-en, is the motive which prompts us
to ordain the solemn act of consecration in which you
are invited to take part. In order that you may do this
the more worthily, we exhort you to prepare yourselves
beforehand by a good confession and by a devout re-
ception of Holy Coromunion on the great festival day
itself, if possible.
It is fitting also that you should join in this act as
a public profession of your faith, especially in all the
great mysteries of redemption, which have their most
expressive symbol, as well as their living source and
centre, in the Adorable Heart of the God man, the " Word
made flesh, and dwelling among us."
You will ofier it, besides, as an act of reparation
for the daily outrages and insults, the sacrileges and im-
pieties, the indifference and unbelief, which so grievously
afflict and wound this Divine Heart, so tender and com-
passionate, so patient, charitable, forgi\ang, notwithstanding
the ingratitude and wickedness of man.
But, above all, you wiW seek to consecrate your
76
PASTOKAL LETTER.
dwn hearts to tlie Heart of yoixr clear Sa\noiir. You will
take His for yom* model. You will study its lessons and
teach them to your children. " Suffer the little children
to come to me, and forbid them not." See, then, that
you bring them to the loving and tender Saviom* who
wishes to press them to His heart, and have them walk
the nearest to Him. But in vihixt way can you bring
them to Him and keep them by His side, where they
^vill be secure from harm ? You can only do so by
giving or securing to them a sound Catholic education;
b}' taking care that their faith and morals shall be
guarded from the risks and perils to which they must
be inevitably exposed wherever the first essential element
of true education — that is to say, religion — is excluded
or ignored. Remember that the interests of the soul are
higher f;xr than the interests of the body. " Seek first
the kingdom of God and His justice, and all things else
will be added imto you." Watch, then, and pray both
for yourselves and for all those intrusted to you. Pray
for our still suffering Pontiff, for the necessities of the
Church, for the conversion of sinners ; pray for your
enemies as well as for your friends. Commend all to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, that so you may find help and protection
during the days of life, pardon and mercy at the hour
of death.
The reverend pastors are requested to read this let-
DEDICATION OF THE CHURCHES. 77
ter to their congregations on the two Sundays jireceding
the 8th of December. On that day the High Mass will
be celebrated with all due solemnity. After mass the
sermon A\ill be preached, and then the act of consecra-
tion, a printed formula of which is sent to you, will be
read aloud, the people meanwhile kneeling and accom-
panying with their hearts the words of the priest. The
ceremony will close with the " Te Deum." Where the
urgency of time or place requires it, the act of conse-
cration may take place at vespers, with Benediction of
the most Blessed Sacrament.
The gi-ace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity
of God, and the communication of the Holy Ghost, be
with you all. Amen !
Given at the Archiepiscopal residence, New York,
this 15th day of November, 1873.
■j-JOHN, Ai-chbishop of New York.
■f-JOHN, Bishop of Brooklyn.
f DAVID W., Bishop of Portland.
■f- FRANCIS PATRICK, Bishop of Hartford.
t LOUIS, Bishop of 13urlington.
t STEPHEN VINCENT, Bishop of Buffalo.
fJOHN J., Bishop of Albany.
-[■JOHN J., Bishop of Boston.
-[-BERNARD J., Bishop of Rochester.
t PATRICK T., Bishop of Springfield.
•j- FRANCIS, ]5ishop of Rhesiua, Coadjutor of Albany.
78
PASTORAL LETTEK.
f THOMAS ¥., Bishop of Providence.
f EDGAR H., Bishop of Ogdensburg.
t MICHAEL A., Bishop of Newark.
ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL.
MOTT STREET.
DESTROYED BY FIKE, OCTOBER (irii, 1866.
THE
Catholic Churches
OF
New York City.
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK.
MOTT STREET.
THE erection of Xcav York into an EpiscoiJal See,
and the appointment of the learned and eloqnent
Dominican Father C'oncanen as first bishop, had been
hailed with joy by the Catholics of New York City. The
Catholics numbered nearly sixteen thousand, but the pre-
carious ministry of pastors had left them often almost
as sheep without a shepherd. They were almost desti-
tute, in 1809, Avhen news came that the Bishop would
soon arrive.
Archbishop Carroll, who had hitherto been unable to
do all he desired for this distant portion of his diocese,
now sent two zealous Jesuit Fathers, Rev. Anthony Kohl-
man and Rev. Benedict J. Fenwick. Laboring without
cessation and with zeal, they soon brought the tepid Ijack
to the practice of their religious duties, encouraged the
pious, attended the sick promptly, cared for the poor,
and, by constant instructions, brought all the scattered
and disheartened flock to St. Peter's, with many a Prot-
estant, anxious to hear Avhat the Catholic doctrine really
was.
82 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Then it was at once apparent that St. Peter's was
utterly inadequate for the wants of so large a flock.
Father Kohlman immediately looked around for a site
that would suit for a new Catholic church, intended for
futui'e as well as present wants, and especially for a cathe-
dral. Canal Street was then the utmost limit of the city.
Before you reached it you came to fields, and beyond it
all was country, with scattered houses, country seats of
gentlemen, and the humbler houses of small farmers. Two
great roads ran up the island — Broadway and the Bowery
road — which led up to the Stuyvesant Bouwerie. At a
point about eqiially distant from these two main thorough-
fares, and hence easy of approach. Father Kohlman secm-ed
a site for a church. Between it and the lower part of
the city was the Collect, a large pond of fresh water, dis-
charging its contents by two outlets — into the North River
by Canal Street, and into the East River near Roosevelt
Street. Around the site of the new chui-ch were clumps
of woodland, grassy hills and meadows. Streets were
projected on paper, that misled the builders ; for the edi-
fice is not parallel to the streets that were actually
laid out by the authorities.
At the suggestion of Ai'chbishop Carroll, this new
church was to bear the name of the hol}^ apostle of Ire-
land. So large a part of the Catholic body that had
gathered at New York were of Irish origin, that the sug-
gestion was most creditable to the patriarch of the Ameri-
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 83
can hierarchy, and showed his veneration for that great
apostle, and his attnchment to tlie |)riests and people of
the faithful Isliind of Saints.
St. Patrick is in himself eminently the pati'on of an
opjiressed and })erseciited race. He was bom of a pious
ftimily, that gave several members to the sanctuary ; he
was of that nation of Britons which, imder the repeated
attacks of pagan nations — Picts, Saxons, and Angles — had
been di-iven from the fertile lands where they lived in
civilized and C'liristian happiness, and had been forced to
seek a refuge in the mountains of Wales and Cornwall,
or on the shores of Gaul. So utter was the breaking up
of the nation that, though St. Patrick names his native
place, disputes have arisen as to its location; but it would
seem to be among the Britons on the Continent, as all
his kindi-ed were there, his ties were there : thence he
was carried off a prisoner, and thither he retimied to
devote himself to God.
A predatory fleet of Irish vessels swept the shore of
Gaul with fire and sword, carrying off captives and plun-
der, and leav-ing ashes and blood. Patrick, wliile a mere
youth, was thus earned away by the pirates while at a
villa of his father. The Irish little knew the blessing they
were bearing to their shores. Despised for his faith and
his race, as his conquerors' descendants were to be, the
young man felt that God had visited him for his own
good. His faitli grew stronger ; his prayer was constant ;
84 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOKK.
and he soiight escape only when he beheved it to be the
will of God.
In his own land he devoted himself to the service
of Heaven. In the solitude of Lerins he acquired a fund
of sacred learning that caused WTiters of early ages to
speak ()f him with respect. But he felt called to con-
vert the race among whom he had, in God's providence,
been thrown, and in Avhom, amid all the fai;lts which
paganism nourished, he discerned the traits of character
which, guided by the gospel, would make it a nation of
saints.
Full of this thought he accompanied St. Germanus of
Auxerre to Britain to combat heresy, and sa^v Palladius
depart to attemjit the mission to which he longed to de-
vote Ills life. When that holy bishop failed, Patrick was
himself consecrated bishop and sent by Pope Celestine.
He was the instrument chosen by God by whom
Ireland became Christian. Paganism yielded without excit-
ing a single persecution, or reddening the soil with the
blood of a martyr. In other hinds the roll of saints
begins Avith martyrs; in Ireland alone, with confessors.
Her martyrs are of a far later date.
He implanted the fiiitli firmly. It struck deep and
Angorous roots. No heresy ever rose in Ireland. None
ever gained. AVhen the English Government used all its
force to implant the Protestant heresy there, they failed ;
they could neither compel nor seduce. They could exter-
CATHEDRAL CHURCH (W ST. PATRICK. 85
minate indeed, and fill up wasted provinces with Protest-
ants from England, Scotland, France, Germany, and even
New England ; but In a few years the Catholic element
wovild preponderate and all others dwindle. Catholicity
alone can thrive on the Island of St. Patrick.
Many leading C'athollcs entered warmly into the pro-
ject of a church in honor of this great saint on our
Island of ]\Ianhattan. A subscription was opened to pay
for the ground and commence the necessary work. The
Hon. Andi'ew Morris, a wealthy chandler, Cornelius Heeny,
for years a benefactor of the Church, and Matthe\\' Reed,
led the subscriptions with g-enerous donations. On the
8th of June, 1809, the Very Kev. Mr. Kohlman, as Vicar
Greneral of the diocese, with his assistant, and the board
of trustees of St, Peter's Church, walked in solenui pro-
cession to the ground. Father Kohlman addressed the
assembled Catholics, congratulating them on their faith
and corn-age, and reminding them of the sacred debt so
many owed to the holy apostle whose name the church
was to bear, and In which they might soon hope to see
a bishop presiding. The corner-stone was then laid Avith
all the ceremonies of the Roman ritual.
But the work went slowly on. The bishop whose
presence was to give life to the undertaking died at
Naples, unable to reach his flock. The wars which had
so long desolated Europe Avere felt beyond the Atlantic,
and the United States became involved In hostilities A\Ith
86 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OP NEW YORK.
Great Britain. This, of course, checked emigration to our
shores and produced distress in all parts of the country.
It was not till the year 1815 that St. Patrick's was ready
for divine ser^dce, nor was it then completed. Tlu'ough
all this time no bishop had reached the Catholics of New
York. One had been appointed, but as liis aiTival could
not be certainly expected, the Bishop of Boston, the loved
and revered Doctor John Chevei'us, was recpiested to dedi-
cate the new cathedral, the venerable iVi-chbishop of Balti-
more having been unable to accept the invitation of the
Catholics of New York'.
On the 4th of May, 181.5, the feast of the Ascension
of om' Lord, a procession moved to the edifice, the Mayor
and Common Council and the trustees of St. Peter's Church
taking part in the ceremony. With the Bishop of Boston
were the priests of St. Peter's, Rev. Benedict J. Fenwick
and two assistants, with Father Maleve and the Rev. Mr.
Pasquiet. It was the finest chvu'ch edifice yet opened
to Catholic worship in the United States, and was dedi-
cated with impressive ceremonies, the most imposing yet
witnessed in New York.
Ground was secured near the Cathedi-al for a ceme-
tery, and the new Bishop, Dr. Connoll}', on arriving,
found the church wants of his flock provided for to an
extent unequaled elsewhere in the United States.
In a letter to Ai-chbishop Carroll, Dr. Cheverus refers
to an account which appeared in the New York Gazette.
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 87
It is worth citing, to show how the church was regarded
in that day, wlien New Yoi'k had just erected a City
Hall, and old Trinity Church was one of the most pre-
tentious buildings of the place. It will increase oiu* respect
for the Catholics of that da}-, who had the courage to
undertake and the liberality and perseverance to complete
a church so much in advance of those erected by far
wealthier denominations.
" The new Catholic Cathe(h-al in this city, which was
begun in the year 1809, and lately so far completed as
to be fit for divine service, Avas last Thursday (Ascen-
sion Bay) solemnly dedicated to God, under the name of
St. Patrick, by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Che-\'erus, Bishop of
Boston.
" This grand and beautiful church, which ma}^ ji^i^tly
be considered one of the greatest ornaments of our city,
and inferior in point of elegance to none in the United
States, is built in the Gotliic style, and execiited agree-
ably to the design of Mr. Joseph Fr. Mangin, the cele-
brated architect of New York. It is one hundred and
twenty feet long, eighty feet Avide, and between seventy-
five and eighty feet high. The superior elegance of the
architecture, as well as the novelty and beauty of the
interior, had, for some months past, excited a considerable
degree of public curiosity, and crowds of citizens of all
denominations daily flocked to it to admire its grandeur
and magnificence ; but on the day of its consecration the
88 CATnOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK
concourse Avas immense. I^pwai'ds f>f four thousand per-
sons, consisting principally of the first families in New
York, including- the members of the Corporation, the pre-
sent (John Ferguson) and former Mayors (De Witt
Clinton), with many other officers of distinction, were able
to find admittaiu'e within, l)ut a far greater number, for want
of room, Avere compelled reluctantly to remain without.
The ceremony of the dedication, Avith the solemn service
of High Mass Avhich followed, Avas long and impressiA'e.
The Rt. llev. Consecrator, after the gospel of the day Avas
sung, deliA'ered from the altar, Avith his usual spriglitly elo-
quence, an ajjpropriate address from the Avords of the 45th
alias 4Gth Psalm, 8th A'erse : 'I luxA-e loA-ed, () Lord, the
Ijeauty of thy house and the place Avhere th}' glory dwel-
leth,' to his numerous admiring and attentiA'e audience."
Tlie 2)raise Avas not exaggerated for Ncav York in
1815. Thirteen years later, a guide-liook, after men-
tioning that it AA'iis the largest religious edifice in the
city, says it is built " of stone, in massiA-e style, the
Avails being seA'eral feet in thickness, the roof rising in
a sharp angle to a height of more than a hundred feet,
and forming, Avith tlie toAver, a most conspicuous object
in approaching the city fi-om the east. The front of the
building is faced Avith hewn In-oAvn stone ; and seA'eral
niches are left open for statues tliat are to be placed.
When completed it Avill be the most impressive-looking
edifice in the citA^"
CATIIEDEAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 89
The erection of so noble an edifice liad a most bene-
ficial effect. Catholics were raised in j)ublic esteem. A
community which could concei^'e and caiTy out such pro-
jects was one entitled to respect.
The pews were ofi^ered for sale on the 15th of May.
(Seventy-seven out of one hundred and ninety-five were
sold, and j^i'oduced $37,500 ; one being purchased by the
writer's family. Sevei-al of the pews, esteemed from their
proximity to the altar and pulpit, brought a thousand
dollars each.
When Bishoji Cirtnnolly finally reached New York,
in the ship Sally, November 24th, 1815, after a stormy
passage of sixty days — a severe trial for one nearly sev-
enty— he could at least feel proud of his Cathedral, the
finest church in the city, and the finest Catholic church
in the country. Thence for more than sixty years it was
the scene of all the great episcopal acts of the diocese
and the Province of New York. Here priests have been
ordained to the ser^^ce of God, bishops consecrated, the
pallium conferred, synods held for the diocese, provincial
councils, and finally, the berretta of a cardinal presented
to the archbishop.
Before the close of the year 1815, St. Patrick's Ca-
tliedi-al witnessed the ordination of a j^riest. Bishop Con-
nolly having raised to sacerdotal orders the Rev. Michael
O'Gorman, who had accompanied liim from Ireland, and
90 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
who stands as the first of the long hne of j^riests or-
dained within the venerated walls of old St. Patrick's.
The C*athedral was at first luider the trustees of St.
Peter's Church; but in April, 1817, the Legislature passed
an act incorjjorating ihe trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral,
the Bishop Ijeing- the president of the board.
Soon after Bishop Connolly was installed, a charitj-
school, as it was then called, was opened in the base-
ment towards Mott Street, where it was continued for
some years, initil a brick building was erected especially
adapted for a parochial school. It was supported by a
collection made in the con^reefation and bv a share of
the State School Fund, then divided between the schools
directed by the different churches and those established
by the Public School Society, an organization intended to
care for those who belonged to no chm'ch.
The care of the orphans was another need. A small
frame building on Prince Street was secured, in which
thi-ee Sisters of Charity, in June, 1817, began their noble
work in New York. To support this charity, " Tlie New
York Roman Catholic Benevolent Society" was formed, by
a few zealous gentlemen, in April, 1816. The famous
singer, Madame Malibran, gave a concert in aid of the
good work ; members flocked in, and the Society was
duly incorporated by the Legislatm-e in 1817. It is the
oldest Catholic organization of the kind in the State, and
CATHEDKAL CHUKCH OF ST. PATRICK. 91
may look back with pride on its more tluiu .sixt}' years
of service for tlie orphan.
The modest frame structure was soon found to be inad-
equate. The g-round on Prince Street was secm-ed, and tlie
central part of the present brick edifice was commenced.
The Cathedral had cost about ninety thousand dol-
lars, and in 1824 there remained a debt of fift}'-three
thousand, sadly cripj^ling the Catholic body, whose con-
tributions went to pay interest instead of meeting the.
wants of religion and charity. Bishop Connolly resolved
to make an effort to relieve the Cathedi'al from the
heavy biu'deu, and called meetings of Catholics to devise
a general system of collection, and a2:)peal to the more
wealthy citizens for aid. The matter was taken np in a
way that showed the love of the people for their bishop;
and so much of the debt was paid that Bishop Du Bois,
in 1830, could announce that it was reduced to twent}-
fom* thousand dollars.
The want of a more extensive cemetery was already
felt. The ground around St. Peter's was very contracted,
and the plot originally 2^^u-chased for St. Patrick's was
not very large. Additional ground was acquired in 1824,
so as to extend to Prince Street, from Mott to Mulberry.
This new portion was solemnly blessed by Bishop Con-
nolly in August, 1824, assisted by the Rev. Mr. O'Gorman
and the Rev. Mr. Sluuiahan. The imposing ceremonies
were recorded at lengtli in the papers of the day.
92 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
At vespers the Rev. Mr. O'Grorman delivered a seraion
in Ii'ish in the Cathedi'al, and made a powerful appeal to
his hearers, which resulted in a collection of four hun-
dred and fifty dollars towards the payment of the cost
of the new ground.
But before long the eloquent priest, New York's first
ordained, was laid out in his sacerdotal robes before the
altar where he had received his mission and so often min-
istered. Within a week, in November, 1824, another of
his clergy Avas stricken doMii, and the venerable Bishop
Connolly was left almost alone at the Cathedral ; Ijut
though he had himself, at the Rev. Mr. (I'Gorman's fune-
ral, contracted a fatal disease, he continued his duties as
bishop, and his labors as parish priest through the winter
of 1824.
But in February, 1825, St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, hushed
with awe, received within its walls the lifeless body of
its venerated bishop, wliich had lain in state in St. Peter's,
and, after a solemn requiem, was conveyed to his Cathe-
dral church, and deposited near the altar, on the 9th of
February, 1825.
The Cathedral, however, put on its robes of glad-
ness when, in November, 1826, Bishop Du Bois, who
had been consecrated in Baltimore, entered it. " On the
feast of All Saints I took possession of my see," he
wi'ote. "With what an impression was not my heart pen-
etrated at the sight of the immense crowd aaIucIi filled
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 93
the Catliecli-al ! I estimate the number of tlio faithful
present at more than four thousand. They were only the
representatives of more than 150,000 others who were
not present."
The new Orphan Asylum was opened in the same
month, and ere long tlie parisli school-house ex-ected; but
Bishop Du Bois was unable to secm-e for the boys a
Community of Brothers, who should do the same good
among them that the Sisters of Charity now did among
the girls of St. Patrick's j^arish.
In December, 1833, the trustees of St. Patrick's Cathe-
dral, finding that the cemetery was insufficient for the
wants of the Catholic popidation of New York, espe-
cially after the experience of the cholera season, purchased,
with the Ijishop's consent, a block of ground on First
Avenue and Eleventh Street.
During the anti-Cathalic excitement of 1836, a mob
which had collected in the lower part of the city re-
solved to attack the Cathedral. There was loud talking
and deep threats ; but time was wasted, and the faithful
had timely notice. The authorities were warned, but the
congregation, depending on their own good hearts and
stout arms, rather than on the vmcertain and often inef-
fectual efforts of public magistrates, prepared to defend
the Cathedral. The cemetery had just been inclosed h\
a brick wall. In this, at proper height, loopholes for
musketry were made, and men belonging to the militia
94 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOEK.
companies, accustomed to handle arms, \\'ere di-awn up
within. Along' Prince Sti'eet, where the approach of the
mob was expected, the cobble-stone pavement was torn
up and taken in baskets to the Avindows of the houses,
which had also a few muskets. In this guise they
awaited the attack.
The mob advanced up the Bowery in a compact
mass, full of the spirit of destruction and religious hate,
but as they neared Prince Sti'eet, a storekeeper Avent out
and counseled the leaders to adopt some military pre-
cautions. By their ad^ace, a small scouting party was
sent forward to reconnoitre. The appearance of Prince
Street, the fortress-like look of the brick wall, the mili-
tary attitude of bodies of men, were a sight for which
they were not prepared. They came to plunder and
destroy. They had no idea of fighting men like men.
Completely crestfallen, they hastened back to the main
body, as if fleeing for their lives. A panic spread, and
the mob melted away.
As the attack might be renewed, the guard was
kept up during the night at the Cathedral, which became
the centre of a kind of God's camp of defense ; but the
impression was produced, and no subsequent attempt was
made on the Cathedral, even in 1844 or 1855.
By this time a house on Mulberry Sti-eet, opposite
the Cathedral, had been purchased for the residence of
the bishop, who had previously lived at some distance.
I
CATHEDRAL CHUIICU OF ST. PATRICK. 95
No bishop had been consecrated in the Cathedral
till the appointment of the Rev. John Hnghe.s as co-
adjutor to Dr. Du Bois. He was consecrated in St. Pat-
rick's Cathedral, January 7, 1838. Every preparation was
made to render the ceremony imposing. Ecclesiastical vest-
ments were obtained from other parts, and the clergy of
the diocese attended in numbers. As the church could not
hold all who woidd undoubtedly desire to witness the
ceremony, platforms were erected outside at the windows,
to accommodate the faithful.
The ne^^dy appointed was consecrated Bishop of Basi-
leopolis in partibus infidel'mm, by the venerable Bishop
Du Bois, assisted, as required by the canons, by t^^'o
bishops, the Right Rev. Francis Patrick Konrick, Bishop
of Philadelphia, and the Right Rev. Benedict Fenwick,
of Boston, who had, in the early days of his priesthood,
labored so devotedly in New York, and especially in the
erection of the Cathedi-al itself
A few years after, an improvement in the Cathedral,
projected by Bishop Du Bois, soon after his installation,
was carried out. The Cathedral was extended in that }'ear,
1838, to Mott Street, and a convenient sacristy made.
This allowed room for a much finer sanctuarv, which was
a beautiful Gothic work, and the rest of the church was
made lighter to correspond Avith it. The heavy, massive
columns, which gave a somber air to the nave, were re-
duced without loss of strength, and incased so as to be
96
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
liighly ornauieiital. This iiii])r()venient, wlucli was singu-
larly effective, was comjileted in 1842 ; and on the feast
of the patroii saint of th(i Cathedi'al, this addition was
blessed hy the liisliop, with the usual ceremonial.
On Sunday, the 28th of August, 1S42, the Cathedral
witnessed tlie convocation of the first synod ever held in
the diocese. The Holy Sacrifice was offered by Bishop
Hughes, then administrator of the diocese, and a sermon
was delivered by the Rev. John ^VIcElrov, whose life we
have seen extended almost to a hundred years. Bishop
Hughes jjresided in the syn( xl ; the promoters were the
Very Rev. Drs. Power and Varela. Sixtv-four other priests
formed tliis most imjjosing gathering of the clergy yet seen.
Among them were some who fill a place in the history
of the Chm'ch — Rev. John McCloskey, who Avas to become
a cardinal ; Rev. 1). AV. Bacon, to be Bishop of Portland ;
Rev. A. Byrne, Bishop of Little Rock ; Rev. J. J. Conroy,
Bishop of Albany ; Rev. J. Loiighlin, Bishop of Brook-
lyn ; Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, Bishop of Hartford ; Rev.
William Quarter, Bishop of Chicago ; the Rev. John Har-
ley, President of St. John's College ; the Rev. Ambrose
Manahan.
During the next decade the Cathedi-al witnessed the
consecration of many bishops. On the 10th of March,
1844, Bishop Hughes, assisted by Bishops Fenwick of
Boston and Whelan of Richmond, consecrated the Rt.
Rev. John McCloskey, Bishop of Axiern and Coadjutor
CATHEDRAL CKUllCU OF ST. I'ATlllCK. 97
of New York ; Rt. Rev. William Quarter, Bishop of Chi-
cago, and Rt. Rev. Andrew Byrne, Bishop of Little Rock.
On the 17th of October, 1847, assisted by Bishop Walsh
of Halifax and Bishop McCloskey of Albany, he con-
secrated Rt. Rev. John Timon, Bishop of Buffalo. On
the 30th of October, 1853, ]\Ionsignor Gaetano Bedini,
Archbishop of Thebes, and subsequently Cardinal, conse-
crated in the same sanctuary the Rt. Rev. James R.
Bayley, Bishop of Newark, Rt. Rev, John Loughlin,
Bishop of Brooklyn, and Rt. Rev. Louis de Goesbriand,
Bishop of Biu'lington.
The See of New York Avas meanwhile made a Metro-
politan. In October, 1850, Bishop Hughes announced his
promotion to the congregation of St. Patrick's, and pre-
pared to go to Rome to be invested with the palliiun.
He also made known a project whicli had for some time
occupied his mind, the ei'ection of a new cathedral, on
the groiuid in Fifth Avenue which they had long owned.
Meanwhile nothing was omitted to render the services of
the chiu'ch more imposing in the ohl Cathedral. Among
other improvements, a fine new organ, T)v Erben, twenty-
eiffht feet wide and fortv-seven feet high — at the time one
of the largest in the city — was erected early in 1852.
St. Patrick's had now become a ]\retropolitan church,
and soon witnessed a Provincial Council. On the 1st of
October, 1854, the Archbishop, with the Bishops of
Albany, Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hartford, and Newark,
7
98 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
moved in procession from the episcopal residence tlnongli
the streets to the Cathedi-al. The archie23iscoi)al cross was
borne aloft at the head of the line, followed by acolytes
in red cassocks, chanters in surplices, priests in the rich
chasubles of their order, theologians, crosier bearers and
attendants, the Archbishop and his seven bishops follow-
ing, arrayed in mitres and copes. They moved up the
aisle of the Cathedral and filled the chancel. Then the
Mass of the Holy Ghost was celebrated, and the solemn
sessions of the council began.
Other councils and spiods have since been held
within the venerated walls, and other bishops consecrated;
but we need not chronicle them all.
It would require a A'olume to sketch or even name
the eminent Catholics who have been connected with the
Cathedi'al, or whose lifeless forms received within its walls
the last rites of the Clnirch, the i-equiem for the departed.
The church, around which so many holy associa-
tions clustered, was visited by an element more destructive
than the hand of time. On the Gth of October, ISGG,
a conflagration occurred on BroadwaA', in\'olving M-are-
houses and goods of g-reat ^'alue ; the sjjarks were borne
in every direction, lighting up the evening sky with their
fitful glare. Suddenly the cry was raised that the roof
of the Cathedi'al was on fire. It was at first deemed
incredible. Yet it pro\'ed to be the fact. The ancient
structure had, from lack of means at its com23letion, been
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 99
covered \\itli ^\•()o(^, ami this, (Iritnl by age, offercil an
easy pi'ey to the flames. When the destructive Llaze
dispeHed all doubt, the clergy of the Cathedral removed
the sacred vessels and altar plate, as well as the records,
and all that was portable, while the faitliful, insensible to
risk, bore to places of safety every picture or piece of
fm'uiture that coidd be reached. The fire department,
already struggling to suppress the conflagration on Broad-
way, hastened to the scene ; but all the efforts proved
iniavaillng. The A\hole roof was one mass of fire, and the
wood-work, lighted by the falling embers, poured forth, as
from a furnace, one vast sheet of flame ; and the morn-
ing dawned on a scene of desolation that carried a pang
to the heart of many a New York Catholic. The A^en-
erable fane, around which clustered so many hallowed
associations connected with the Church and with their
own kindi'ed and friends, was but a mass of blackened
walls. Altar and sanctuary -were gone ! It wna but a sad
monument of the past.
But the spot was too sacred to be abandoned,
although the new Cathedi-al approached completion. The
Archbishop and the congregation resolved to rebuild it
at once.
As restored, St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, though of course
far Inferior to the new one on Fifth Avenue, is a noble
structure. It Is Grothic, of a piu-e style. The length is
divided by eight arches, tlie 2)Illars separating the nave
100 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
from the aisles. The window over the altar is a grand
one, the stained glass being of admirable design and finish.
Of the twelve windows, that on each side nearest the
chancel has a full-length figure, the rest being filled with
ornaments merely. Beautiful copies of two of Raphael's
finest paintings are on either side of the sanctuary.
The altar is of white marble, exquisitely wrought and
surmounted by a crucifix. The Gothic screen behind has
in its niches fine figures of the Twelve Apostles. The
side altars of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph corre-
spond harmoniously with the main altar, and, -^^ith the
screen which advances here and runs behind them, pro-
duce a most beautiful effect.
In the grand ceremonials of the Church, when the
sanctuary is lit up by a thousand candles and jets of
gas, and crowded with the purple-robed bishops cluster-
ing aromid the tall and amiable form of the Cardinal,
with priests in cassock and surplice, and others in the
more varied habits of St. Dominic and St. Francis, the
place seems admirably fitted for the impressive ritual of
the Church.
On its completion it was solemnly dedicated by
Archbishop McCloskey, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17,
1868, Bishops Loughlin of Brooklyn and Bacon of Port-
land assisting, with a vast assemblage of secular priests
and Fathers of the Dominican, Franciscan, Jesuit, Re-
demptorist, and Mercy orders.
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. IQl
The cemetery around St. Patrick's holds many of the
early honored Catholic dead. Some stones Lear names
t
of families still existing among- us ; of others the descend-
ants have vanished. A son of General Moreau died
during his father's residence in America, and was laid
here. Here rest Thomas O'Conor, the venerable father of
Charles O'Conor, Captain James McKeon, U. S. A., a
hero of the war of 1S12, father of Hon. John McKeon,
Capt. Pierre Landais, second in commanfl to Paul Jones
in his famous battle, Stephen Jumel, John B. Lasala, and
many other notable persons in the Catholic body, with
not a few zealous priests.
Beneath the church are vaidts where lie the remains
of Bishops Connolly and Du Bois, and Archbishop Hughes,
as well as a few other vaults belon'ging to ])rivate families.
The site for the new St. Patrick's Cathedi-al is thus
described by Archbishop Hughes : —
"The block of ground on which the cathedral is to
be built is two hundred feet on Fifth Avenue on the
west, two hundred feet on Madison Avenue on the east,
by four hundred and twenty feet on Fifty-first Street
north and Fiftieth Street south." It is a spot which has
been Catholic ground for more than sixty years. Every
few years the story is started that the ground was given
to the Catholics by the city. The records of the city
show the contrary. The ground was purchased by the
trustees of St. Peter's and St. Patrick's before a Catholic
102 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
bishop of New York ever took possession of liis see. The
Jesuit Fathers conducted a college for some years in a
building still standing.
It was originally subject to a quit rent of wheat,
which at the time of the anti-Rent troubles, was released
by the city on pa}"ment of a sum in gross, not as a
favor, bxtt in pursuance of a wise policy to abolish all
the old feudal services and burdens that existed.
As streets were laid out, the Cathedral, which had
acquired the whole property, exchanged gores -^^ith the
city for mutual benefit; but not one foot of the ground
was a gift from the city. State, or Union.
" The building is to be three lmndre<l and twenty-
two feet long, ninety-seven feet wide, the transept a
hundred and seventy-two feet, the height from floor to
ceiling at the summit of the clerestory, one hundred feet.
There will be fourteen chapels, besides the grand altar."
Such was the magnificent project of the great Arch-
bishop, after adopting a i)lan from the many submitted
to him. In June, 1858, he issued a circular which he
addressed to one hundi-ed and fifty of the most pious, zeal-
ous and wealthy Catholics of the city and diocese, asking
from each one thousand dollars as a subscription to begin
the work. He then called upon them all, and more than
a hundred responded, giving over one hundred thousand
dollars.
Encouraged by this manifestation of the interest taken,
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 103
and couviiicecl that tlie calls for five hundred dollars, and
smaller amounts, which ho proposed to make in succession,
wouhl meet as hearty a response, the Archbishop had the
ground graded, and, on the l^tli of August, 1858, the feast
of our Lady's Assumption, laid the corner-stone. Seven
bishops, one hundred and thirty priests, one huntbed and
twenty acolj'tes, in cassock and surplice, made an impos-
ing ecclesiastical group. Tlie grand ceremonial, chanted by
these numerous voices, proceeded amid an audience of
not less than a hundred thousand, many of them Protes-
tants, drawn by wonder and curiositj' to the scene.
The work was commenced and continued down to
the civil war, each successive call meeting the same gen-
erous response ; but in the troubles then gathering upon
the country, it ^vas impossible to think of ])rosecuting the
vast undertaking. The fiiiling health of the Archbishop
prevented his reviving it, even Avlien the prospect of peace
restored confidence to the country.
On his promotion to the See of New York, Arch-
bishop McCloskey, urged by man 3", resolved to carry on
the gi-eat work of his predecessor. It has, in 1878, nearly
approached completion, and is the largest, and finest temple
of God erected in this comitry, having cost more than
two millions of dollars. Its later building expenses have
been met by a i-egular annual subscription in each church
in the diocese, so that it is indeed the church of chm'ches.
The style is the decorated Gothic of the foiu-teenth
104 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
centiuy, and somewhat resembles the great Cathedral of
Cologne. The front is extremely beautiful,^ with tlu-ee
richly decorated doors, simnounted by a l^eautiful rose
windo^^- and two (rothic windows ; the two sjjires rising
to the height of three hundred and twenty-eight feet.
The main entrance is thirty-five feet wide and fifty-one
feet high, and is a series of columns, with bases and fi^li-
age caps, from which spring richly ornamented arches. The
gable above has a row of niches for statuary.
There are a hundred and tlu-ee windows, all of stained
glass, set in double tiers at the sides, the lower thirty-
two feet in height, the upper twenty-eight, producing a
grand effect. Many of these windows were executed in
Eiu'ope, and are of great merit in design and execution.
The interior will be composed of the nave and its
two side aisles, the transept forming the cross and the
choir. The length within will be three hundred and six
feet, the general width ninety-six feet, with chapels on each
side, each twelve feet Avide.
The choir and sanctuary will have a centre separated
from aisles on either side by clustered colunms of white
marble. The high altar is of white marble, executed in
Italy, with a magnificent altar screen of colored marble
columns, with marble niches and statues.
The dedication and opening of this magnificent struc-
ture are scenes that the Catholics of New York City look
forward to with the deej^est mterest.
VERY REV. WILLIAM QUINN,
VICAR GENERAL OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW YORK, PASTOR OF ST.
PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL.
THE rectorship of St. Patrick's Cathedral has al-
ways been a position of importance in the
Catholic Chiu'ch on New York Island, and has been
filled by men of eniinence among the clergy. Not only
as the leading church, but also as that which for years
had the most extensive parochial district, extending at
first far beyond the limits of the island, St. Patrick's
had, in those to whom the bishops, and at a later date
the archbishops, confided the spiritual care of the flock
worshiping within its venerable walls, priests who will
not soon be forgotten.
For some years back the rector has also held the
onerous dignity of Vicar General, devolving upon him as
the chief administrative officer of the Archbishop a host
of difficult and responsible duties in regard to the
churches, clergy, institutions, and laity of the diocese,
requiring no ordinary gifts and powers, as well as sound
theological learning and vast experience. During the
occasional seasons of the absence of the Most Reverend
Archbishop from the diocese, made more frequent in our
104^
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
time by tlie elevation of our revered Metropolitan to
the Sacred College of Rome, and in those sad hom-s
when God has called from among the head of om* dio-
cese, the administration of the whole diocese has de-
volved on the Vicar General.
Nor does even this include all. The Vicar General
is, under the Ai'chbishop, Superior of many of the com-
munities of religious women, and director of nearly all
others.
The selection by the Most Reverend Ai-chbishop of
a priest for the two-fold position of Vicar General and
rector of the Cathedi-al is, therefore, in itself, an assm*-
ance of his conviction that the priest thus honored pos-
sesses in an eminent degi'ee the qualities of a good
pastor — discernment, prudence, learning, experience, and
administrative skill.
Tlie present rector of St. Patrick's Cathedi'al, the
Very Rev. William Quinn, Vicar General of the diocese,
was born in the parish of Donoughmore, in the County
of Donegal, Ireland, in the year 1821. He was edu-
cated in the primary studies in the schools of the Dio-
cese of Derry, to which he belonged by birth ; and as
he approached the years of manhood, came to the
United States in 1841.
It was not to seek a fortune, or acquire fame in
any professional career, but a wish to serve God in his
sanctuary, and labor in a field where priests were few
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 104"
and the harvest was great, that led him to cross the
ocean.
Bishop Hughes was just completing his preparations
for establishing at Rose Hill, Fordham, a seminary to
supply his diocese with priests, and a college to afford
young Catholics of New York an institution where they
could pursue a university coxu'se withotit having every
science and branch of learning imbued with the poison
of error.
Almost as soon as the seminary was ready to re-
ceive aspirants for the priesthood, and a month before
St. John's College was opened for students, William
Quinn entered his name as a seminarian at St. Joseph's,
May 1, 1841. The original system was that of Mount
St. Mary's, the faculty of the seminary directing the
college, and seminarians aiding in the college as tutors and
prefects. The Very Rev. Mr. Quinn was thus an inter-
ested spectator in the opening of St. John's College, and,
with the exception of his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey,
is the only member of the clergy now surviving who
was present, in any capacity, on that interesting occasion,
so fruitful in good results to the Diocese of New York.
After his course of study and labor in the college,
he was raised to the priesthood by his Eminence, then
the Right Reverend Coadjutor of Archbishop Hughes. He
was ordained alone, in St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, on the 17th
day of December, 1845.
104^
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
lie had already made an essay in one of the most
difficnlt and iinpleasant duties that devolve on a priest in
this country. When the Right Reverend Bishop HiTghes
had made some progress in the erection of the new
building for St. Joseph's Seminary and the Church of
Our Lady of Mercy that adjoins it, the contributions for
the expense decreased rapidly. An appeal was made by
the Right Reverend Bishop, and the young seminarian
readily undertook a torn' and collected a large amount in
New York, Brooklyn, and other parts.
Immediately after his ordination he was assigned to
St. Joseph's Clnu-ch as assistant priest to the experienced
Rev. ]\Iichael McCarron. He remained nearly four years,
zealousl}^ doing his share in the Avork of the ministry
in the then very large parochial district of St. Joseph's,
under a priest who never was remiss in discharging his
duties or could allow others to become so.
On the 20th of September, 1849, the Very Rever-
end Bishop appointed Rev. Mr. Quinn pastor of Rondout,
but he remained in that parish only a brief term. At
that moment one of the greatest diflficidties of the Bishop
was the unfortunate position of affairs at St. Peter's
Church. The trustee system, with inexperience and in-
competence, had broiight that church to a state of bank-
ruptcy that caused Avidespread distress, and filled the
whole Catholic body with pain and shame.
In this emergency, Bishop Hughes, on the 1st of No-
CxVTHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 104^
vember, 1849, placed as pastor in 8t. Potor's tlio Rev.
William Quinn, " then a young man," lie said at a later
da}' ; " bnt his wisdom and prudence in administration
had already been tested in another difficult i)osition."
The Ijurden which the new pastor had to face was
one of no ordinary magnitude. Beside the mortgage debt
there Avas more than a hnndi-ed thousand dollars due,
mainl}- in small sums to jioor people, who, regarding
the church as a kind of savings bank, had made it
the deposit of the little hoard they had acquired by
years of economy. When the church difficulties began,
payment stopped, and for five years nothing had been
paid them of principal or interest. To relieve the church
from disgrace and repay these deposits was the first care
of the Rev. Mr. Quinn. Harmonizing all minds in the
congregation, burying in oblivion all past questions and
divisions, he inspired all with the one idea of relieving
St. Peter's from its hea^-y burden. By constant labor, by
steady exertions and ingenious plans, he raised sum after
sum till he had the consolation of reducing the indebt-
edness to seven thousand dollars.
During this long struggle the ordinary expenses of
the church had to be regularly met, and there were ex-
traordinary charges of a serious natru-e. The building of
large storehouses in the rear of the church threatened
the gable end of St. Peter's. To save it required the
erection of a solid stone wall twenty feet high, with iron
104" CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
pillars. The necessary work, with iron railings required
around the church, cost twenty thousand dollars.
In the summer of 1860 he was compelled to seek
some relaxation from the incessant sti'ain on his whole
faculties, and recruit his health, enfeebled by a sunstroke.
On the advice that a short sea voyage would benefit
him, he resolved to visit a reverend friend in Newfound-
land, but the " Connaught," on which he sailed, was pre-
vented by dense fogs from approaching the shore, and
after waiting in vain for thirty-six hours, continued her
voyage across the Atlantic. He was thus unex23ectedly
enabled to visit liis aged mother and his kindred in Done-
gal, to whom his sudden ajipearance was a most grati-
fying surprise.
The Rev. Mr. Quinn took part in the First Provin-
cial Council of New York, held by the Most Reverend
Archbishop Hughes in October, 1854. He was also
present at the Second Plenary Coimcil of Baltimore, held
by the Most Reverend Archbishop Spalding, as Delegate
Apostolic, in October, 1866. He attended as theologian
of the Ai'chbishop of San Francisco, and was assigned to
the Congregation on Churches, the Maintenance and Pres-
ervation of Ecclesiastical Property, and also on Secret
Societies ; and was one of the deacons attending his
Grrace at the opening- mass of the Holy Grhost, offered
by the present Cardinal McCloskey.
At the Second Provincial Council, held in January,
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK. 104'
lis GO, he was also present; and in the Third New York
Synod, held in September, 1868, he was one of tlie
Procm-ators of the Clergy.
On the death of the Very Rev. William StaiTs he
was appointed, on the 1st of May, 1873, to fill his po-
sition as pastor of the Cathedral, and was also made
Viear General of the diocese. The congregation of St.
Peter's Chm-ch had, dming his years of eai-nest exertion
for their welfare, learned to appreciate him, and heard
AA-ith the deepest feeling that his connection with them
was to be so soon severed. The chnrch which he fonnd
divided, weighed down with debt and shame, was now
milted, free from all embarrassment, and ready at last to
turn its attention to those great parocliial works which
were imperatively demanded.
On the 27th of April, 1873, addressing the flock which
he had directed for nearly twenty-four years, the Rev. Mr.
Quinn, after alluding in an afi"ecting manner to those who
had been prominent in the church work, but had passed
away, and reviewing his pastoral labor, took his farewell
of St. Peter's.
"When his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey sailed for
Rome, August 6, 1875, the Very Rev. Mr. Quinn became
administrator of the diocese during the absence of the
Archbishop, and as such exercised a supervision over the
whole diocese till the retm-n of the Cardinal.
He was again invested with similar powers when,
104«
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
early in 1878, on the death of the late Pope Pius IX.
of blessed memory, his Eminence was summoned to attend
the conclave for the election of his successor.
Besides the onerous duties that engaged his attention
as pastor of St. Peter's, and amid the manifold cares at-
tendant on the positions he now fills, the Very Rev.
Mr. Quinn has never relaxed in his active interest in one
of the most excellent associations in the diocese — the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He was one of the first
to organize in this city an association which had accom-
plished such a world of good in France, and is a most
perfect model of an organization for the relief of distress.
The Very Rev. Mr. Quinn, in his clear, practical
good sense, saw the great merit of the organization, and
gave himself to it heart and soul. He was for years
the medium of correspondence between the President-
General of the Society in Paris and the conferences in
this country. When the Society had sufficiently developed
here he succeeded in having a Council of Direction estab-
lished, and formed a Superior Council for the confer-
ences nt)W included in the circmnscription of that Coun-
cil. It is no exaggeration to say that if the Society in its
various branches throughout the city is the instrument
of so much good to the less fortunate, and a soiu-ce of
so many graces to the members, it is due in no small
degree to the constant and urgent devotion of the Very
Rev. William Quinn, to his unremitting attendance at all its
meetings, and his fidelity to the duties devolving upon him.
CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK.
105
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR.
Acclas, Mary, Mrs.
Ahearn, Patrick.
Ally, William.
Bergan, William.
Bernard, James M.
Boyle, Michael.
Breslen, Ellen.
Brogan, John C.
Campbell, Patrick.
Carloin, Jane.
Carroll, John.
Casey, ^Villianl.
Cassidy, Mary, Mrs.
Cogan, Maggie.
Corr, Patrick.
Corrigan, John.
Cosgrove, John.
Cunningham, James.
Currie, William A.
Curry, Patrick.
Daly, Maurice.
Dempsey, Patrick.
Devine, Michael.
Dinnan, Patrick.
Doherty, John.
Doolan, P.
Dufify, Owen.
Dunn, William.
Dunne, Elizabeth.
Dwyer, James.
Eagleton, Patrick.
Fahey, Patrick.
Fanning, Edward.
Fitzgerald, James.
Flanagan, Edward.
Fogarty, William.
Fox, John.
Geoghegan, Rich'd, Mrs.
Gilday, Patrick.
Gleason, John.
Golden, Charles.
Gottsberger, John G.
Cough, Patrick.
Green, John.
Haggerty, P21izabeth,Mrs.
Haggerty, John.
Hanlon, Jose])h.
Harrison, Andrew.
Harrison, T.
Hart, \V. T. A.
Hayes, James.
Hayes, Patrick.
Hibbits, Fintan.
Higgins, Edward.
Houghton, Alex., Mrs.
Keegan, Thomas.
Keenan, John.
Kehoe, Andrew.
Kelly, Hugh, Mrs.
Kelly, John.
Lennon, P.
Lilly, Dennis,
Lorigan, John.
McArdle, Owen.
McBride, Sarah, Mrs.
IMcCabe, James.
McCann, Bernard J.
McCarthy, Patrick.
McCoUum, Patrick.
McDonald, Henry.
McDonough, John.
McGill, James, Mrs.
McGinnis, Hugh.
McGowan John.
McGrade, Michael.
McGuire, Thomas.
Barr\', Michael. Mrs.
McKeever, Terence.
McKeon, John.
McLean, John.
McNamara, Patrick.
Marion, Peter.
Marshall, David E., Mrs.
ALartin, Andrew.
Martin, John.
Maxwell, James.
Mills, Mary E.
MolloV, James.
Moore, Hugh.
Mulligan, Daniel.
Mulligan, Peter.
Murphy, James.
Murphy, James, Mrs.
Murphy, Thomas J.
Murphy, William.
Newman, James.
O'Brien, j" J.
O'Gorman, Jnmes.
O'Mealia, James.
O'Neil, Francis, Mrs.
O'Reilly, Francis.
O'Rorke, James.
PurceJl, John.
Quigley, M. J.
Quinn, J. B.
Rafferty, Patrick.
Reynolds, Martin.
Roberts, William R.
Sayrs, Henry J.
Shields, Andrew, Mrs.
Smith, ALargaret.
Sullivan, Mortimer.
Sullivan, Thomas.
Sweney, John.
White, Patrick M.
CHURCH OF SAINT AGNES.
EAST FOKTY-TIIIKD tJTREET.
THE CHURCH OF SAINT AGNES.
EAST FORTY-THIRD STRJ:ET.
IN 1873, the Archbishop of New York saw, l)y the
overcrowded condition of the churches on the east-
ern side of the city, and their overworked priests, that a
new parish was needed ; Avhere some zeah)us pastor miylit
rear a temple to God, and direct the energies of Cath-
oHc residents, who ah-eady evinced that true spirit wliich
has peopled our country with churches and pious in-
stitutions.
After due consideration, the limits of the new parish
were laid off, wliich was to be })laced under the patron-
age of that holy virgin mart}T, St. Agnes. It extends
from Madison to Third Avenue, and from Thirty-fourth
to Forty-second Street, and from Fourtli Avenue to East
River between Forty-second and Forty-seventh Streets.
To minister to the Catholics of the district, and assimie
the task and responsibilities of erecting a suitable clnircli,
he selected the Rev. Harry Cummings Macdowall, who
had, as assistant at St. Michael's Church, evinced cour-
age, energy, and devotedness. He did not slu-Ink from
the burden, although the country was suffering from
financial distress, and a general feeling of depression
108
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
pervaded the whole community, leaving thousands without
employment, and disenchanting many of the wealthy,
who discovered that their fancied riches were as unreal
as foiry gifts.
He explored his parish, to ascertain who Avere his
flock, and to let them know their new pastor. Then
he secured a lease of a hall over Croton ]\Iarket, in
Forty-second Street, and having fitted it up as a tempo-
rary chapel, distributed handbills around to announce the
fact to the Catholic residents. Here, on the 13th of
July, 1873, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, the Holy
Sacrifice was offered for the first time, and the parish of
St. Agnes was organized; three masses being said on the
opening day, and all well attended.
"Within a few days after the settlement of the parish,
the pastor, who, with his associate, the Rev. A. Catoggio,
found a home with Mr. Charles Bradhm-st, was en-
srasred in looking' for a site on which to erect the chm-ch.
A central position is always desirable for the convenience
of the pastor and his flock. A suitable location was
soon found, on the north side of East Forty-third Street,
and pm-chased on reasonable terms of the old Catholic
Doherty family, and a pastoral residence acquired on easy
terms from Messrs. Cochran and Saulpaugh.
An architect of ability, Mr. L. J. O'Connor, guided
by the views of the Rev. Mr. Macdowall, who had
studied abroad and here the styles of architecture best
CHUIIOII OF ST. AGNES. 109
adapted to church edifices in crowded cities, ckew up
plans for a structure of sinyuhu- beauty. It full}-
answered the ecclesiastical wants of the pastor, and the
architectural judgment of the planner. The chui-ch, as
thus aiTanged upon, was at once begun. The ground
was cleared, the corner-stone laid, and the skillful build-
ers, Moran and Armstrong and ]\Iichael J. Newman,
pushed on the work so well and so vigorously that, in
January, 1874, the first story or basement of the chm'ch
was finished. It is remarkable for its strength of mason-
work, with a front of solid gi-anite, inclosing a space of
about ten thousand square feet, and being fourteen feet
high.
The congregation, who watched M'ith deep attention
the progress of the edifice to which they had contrib-
uted so liberally, saw here already a far more appro-
jjriate chapel fur divine Avorship than the hall they had
hitherto iised. They heard with jo}' that this basement
was to become their chapel. On Sundav, January 11th,
this lowly shrine was solenmly dedicated by his Grace
Archbishop McCloskey. The procession, headed by the
archiepiscopal cross, wath acolytes, priests, and the ven-
erable Archbishop, moved up the aisle, and tlie ceremony
was performed by which the place was set apart for the
worship of God. Then High Mass was offered iip, the
Rev. Ai'thur J. Donnelly of St. Michael's officiating, with
the Rev. Messrs. Pratt and Farrelly as deacon and sub-
110
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
deacon. An eloqnent sermon was preached by the Rev.
J. L. Spaukling, on the persecutions of the Church and
the hfe of the dear and hjvely saint in whose honor
their chapel was ah-eady dedicated, and then- magnificent
chm-ch would soon be.
The holy Fathers ^ne with each other in honoring
St. Affnes. Next almost to the Inmiaculate Mother of
God, the Church holds up, as a special j^atroness of
piirit)', this youthful Roman maiden, who, at the age of
thirteen, rejected all the suitors whom her wealth and
beauty brought to her feet, telling them that she had
consecrated her virginity to a heavenly spouse, whom
mortal eyes could not Ijeliold. In their disappointment
they denounced her to the Governor as a Christian.
How had Rome fallen, ^^'hen her sons could thus seek
power to Avreak their vengeance on a weak girl ! But
she was not weak. Tlu'eats, the sight of the instruments
of torture, failed to damit her. God preserved her purity
from insult by a miracle, but the mmicle did not touch
the hearts of her persecutors. She was led out to die,
and went, says the great St. Ambrose, more cheerfully
than others go to their wedding. Life was again offered
her; but, having offered up a short prayer, she bowed
her neck at once to worsliip her divine spouse, and to
receive the sword stroke that was to unite her to Him
forever.
From her martyrdom under Diocletian, in 303, her
CIIUllCII OF ST. AHXES. m
fame has spread ; and our cit}' may well seek the inter-
cession of a saint so dear to Heaven.
A Sunday-school was begun in their first temporary
chapel, and was renewed in Forty-third Street. Though
small at first, it soon grew, and the instruction of the
children has been steailily kept up. To kindle the fire
of solid J)iety in the flock thus newly brought together,
the pastor in^-ited the Kev. Father Glackmeyer, of the So-
ciety of Jesus, and his associates, to give a mission in
the temporary clnu-ch. It was attended with most bene-
ficial results, and at its close the Sacrament of Confirma-
tion was administered l)y Bishop Lynch of Charleston, to
more than six hundi-ed persons.
Another mission in the year 1875 was equally pro-
ductive of good, as may be seen hy the fsict that on
that occasion Bishop ]\IcNierny of Albany confirmed three
hundi-ed, most of \\liom were adults.
Great interest was taken in the new church, an en-
tertaimnent at the Academy of ]\Iusic producing fom* thou-
sand dollars. Others, given at the Union League Theatre
and Lexington Avenue Opera House, also aided materially.
The grand ladies' fair of November, 1874, produced nearly
ten thousand dollars, and encouraged the zealous ladies to
undertake a second fair.
For a time work was suspended, l:)ut it was resumed
in April, 1S7(!, and the church completed within a year
from that period. It is certainly one of the most bciiutiful,
112 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
as well as most solid ecclesiastical structiires in the city.
The side walls are strongly buttressed on the inside, and
the aisles are supported by stone and iron pillars of great
strength.
The style of the cluirch is oi'namental Norman Gothic.
The front is of Ohio stone and excellent Philadelphia brick,
laid in cement, with stone trimmings beautifully and ela-
borately carved.
Short flights of steps, rising easily from the street,
lead to the tlu-ee portals. The main entrance has been
well described as almost a garden in stone, so beautiful
is the scvilptured foliage around the arches, and the
columns with their foliated capitals. The arch above the
doorway is a perfect mass of bold carving, the vine and
its clusters forming the chief portion. The side entrances,
though less elaborate, are in perfect keeping, and very
beautiful.
Above these is a row of low-sized Norman windows,
sm-mounted by the great choir window, of remarkable
beauty in all its details. The gable is crowned by a
beautiful Celtic cross. On each side are massive towers,
with buttresses, terminating in small stone arched windows.
Even with the limited range a city street affords, the ex-
terior of St. Agnes impresses all who approach it with
a sense of beauty.
The interior gives more scope for Catholic feeling.
It consists of a nave, with double aisles on each side.
CHURCH OF ST. AGNES.
113
and double rows of clustered columns, with floriated capi-
tals. Those nearest the nave are sixty feet high, and from
the floriated capitals sjjring- the ribs supporting the vaulted
main roof. The inner roA^s of pillars, somewhat shorter,
support arches at right angles to the former. The orna-
mentation of the ceiling and the walls is elaborate and
profuse, yet not overloaded. There is a fine taste in all
the adornment, avoiding all corners or bare blank spaces.
Tliere are galleries over the outer aisles, approached by
broad, massive staircases. The floors of the church and
the gallery descend gently towards the chancel, so that
the ser\'ices at the altar can be seen equally well from
all parts of the building.
One feature in the church is that the wood-work is
all carved, or fluted, and finished up without the use of
paint.
The sanctuary is lighted by a beautiful chancel window
in five compartments, with a circular portion above. In
the centre St. Agnes is seen standing in her cell ; on
the left is her jailer holding her chain, while an execu-
tioner is preparing the stake at wdiich she is to be
burned. (_)n the i-iglit the Roman prefect is condemning
her to death. On either side of these, in the last com-
partmentSj are the early martyrs, St. Januarius and St.
Lawrence. Above are seen anijels bearino: the Palm of
Martyrdom, the Heavenly Crown, and the Lamb, wdiich is
the peculiar emblem of the saint.
8
114
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOKK.
Over the nltur ut" Our Lady is a window represent-
ing' the Annunciation, and over that of St. Joseph, one
in which we behold our Lord appearing to the Blessed
Margaret Mary Alacoque. The side windows are adorned
with monograms, legends, and the instruments of the
Passion.
The altar rail, to which a balustrade leads v;p, is of
polished brass work, open arches springing from pillars ;
the side altars are separated from the main altar by
elaborate screens of Gothic wood-work ; the communion
rail extending across is beautifully carved walnut.
The high altar is extremely beautiful, surmounted by
an elaborately carved Gothic tabernacle ; above is an
elaborate canopy under which stands a richly-wrought
crucifix, the gift of a lady in the congregation. Above
the canop}' is a little niche terminating in a cross. The
background of the altar is painted to represent crimson
silk tapestry. The side altars, the table resting on por-
phyry pillars with rich tabernacles, and statues of Our
Lady and St. Joseph, harmonize beautifully Avith the high
altar. Above that of the Blessed Virgin is a Pieta, the
figm'e of our cn;cified Lord with his IIol}' Mother and
the two ]\Iarys. It was a gift from the late Barney
Williams. Over that of St. Joseph is a fine painting of
the Descent from the Cross.
The church thus beautifid in all its attributes is so
divided as to give the greatest possible accommodation.
CHURCH OF ST. AGNES. 115
It will scat lit'tccn liuiidrcd in its symmetrical pews, and
the cliurch caii, if necessar}', liold three thousand persons.
Taujilit by sad accidents ^vliich have occurred of hite
years liere and elsewhere, the solid and rich doors all
open outwardly, and besides the tlu'ee in front there are
several others. Provision has been made also for fire,
hose being provided at the door and in the vestry, to
check the progress of the destnictive element before it
becomes beyond control.
Such was the beautiful Church of St. Agnes, when
prepared for its solemn dedication, May 0, 1877. The
solemn ceremony was performed by his Eminence John,
Cardinal McCloskey, assisted by the Very Rev. William
Quin, V.G. ; the Rt. Rev. James L. Spalding, Bishop of
Peoria ; the Rt. Rev. William O'Hara, Bishop of Scranton ;
Rt. Rev. Michael Corrigan, Bishop of Newark ; Rt. Rev.
John Loiighlin, Bishop of Brooklyn, and about one hun-
di-ed secular and regular priests, Dominit'ans, Franciscans,
Jesuits, and Paulists.
The procession issued from the sacristy headed by
the cross-bearer and acolytes, followed by the Young
Ladies' Sodality, the long" line of pi'iests and bishops
chanting the Litany of the Saints, and closed by the
Cardinal in his crimson robes, attended by Rev. P. J.
McCloskey and Rev. H. Pratt.
The High Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of
Scranton, and the sermon preached by the Bishop of
116
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOEK.
Peoria, whose eloquent and instructive words were listened
to with absorbing interest. His text was taken from the
gospel of St. Luke, chapter 19, verse 9.
"Great monuments," said the eloquent divine, "great
monuments to God are built by faith, are built by the peo-
ple, are built by those who desire to show their love for God
by doing something. If the Catholic Church did not
require these sacrifices, it would not be a true religion.
" I thank God with all my heart that I live in an
age and in a country in which it is no honor to be a
Catholic, in which the very fact that a man is a Catho-
lic, if he have any high aspirations, is against him. I do
thank God witli all my heart that no man, by being a
true Catholic, can win honor or consideration. I do thank
God that men must show their belief by building churches,
by being foithful, by building- all kinds of monuments of
benevolence, Ijy all good works. But people sometimes
grmnble when asked to assist in rearing temples to God.
They taUi about tlie times being hard ; but of course
they love the Church A-ery much !
" But since I nuist conclude, I liave no reason to re-
proach you with this, since this very temple in which we
are gathered would put me to the blush, did I so charge
you. Certainly, you who have helped Father Macdowall
to build this Church of St. Agnes have done nobly;
and I could not, for my own part, think of a saint more
worthy to dedicate this temple to than St. Agnes ; for
i
CHURCH OF ST. AGNES. 117
it seems especially desirous that we should bring back
those great saints of the martp-s' ages, because, though
men are not now put to death or tortured for their faith,
yet that old spirit that brought about the persecution of
the early Clii'istians has been again revived. Men say now,
as in the time of St. Agnes, that you cannot be loyal
to Caesar and to God — that you cannot be a good citizen
and a good Catholic. Do you know why those Cloiistians
died for centuries ? They died for being true to their
divine allegiance ; they died for the liberty to woi'ship God
in spite of states ; they died f(ir freedom in worship. This
is really the history of all those persecutions. The Clu-is-
tians were persecuted because they refused to acknowledge
the supremacy of the Empire in religion as in civil mat-
ters; and, after tlu'ce hundi-ed years of martyrdom, they
conquered that ci^-il liberty for all the ages. Now men
are again talking tliis babl)le, and certainly the battle is
being fought in the world of opinions, in the world of
convictions. We may have to suffer again; and, therefore,
I say, build temples to those great martyi's who suffered
and died rather than give to Caesar the honor which be-
longs to God only, and to His Church; who, rather than
yield their consciences to an emperor, a parliament, or a
congress, were willing to be outcasts from society, to go
into banishment, willing to abide by God's good pleasiu-e."
At the close of the mass, before the benediction, his
Eminence addressed a few words to the conjn'eg-ation. "I
118
CATHOLIC CUURCHES OF NEW YORK.
certainly do most sincerely offer both my thanks and con-
gratvilations to the young and devoted pastor of this Church
of St. Agnes for the good work which he has achieved, not
only for jon, hut for all the Catholics of this great and
populous city of New York. But for you, members of
St. Agnes' Chiu'ch, this is truly a most happy, and will
ever be to you and to your children a most memorable day.
You have, in God's providence, been enabled to build up
here a beautiful temple to His honor and glory. You
have offered it to Him. You have witnessed with what
ceremonies the Holy Church, in the presence of her bishops
and ministers, has blessed and consecrated it, and then
offered it to Almighty God, begging Him to accept the
offering of His loving and devoted childi-en. And He
has accepted your offer."
The church was thus opened for the worship of God,
but the Association of St. Agnes, formed to create a fund
for the building, was continued to aid in extinguishing
all debts incurred in its completion.
The clergy, since the organization, have been :
Rev. H. C. Macdowall, Pastor.
Rev. Anthony Catoggio, Assistant in 1873.
Rev. Henry Pratt, Assistant, 1873 to the present time.
Rev. P. J. McCloskey, Assistant, 1876. Died Decem-
ber 2, 1877.
Rev. A. J. Keogh, Assistant, 1877.
Rev. William J. ]\IcClure, Assistant, 1878.
I
CHURCH or 8T. AUNES. Hg
REV. HARRY C. MACDOWALL,
PASTOR OF ST. AGNES' CHURCH.
THE Rev. Ilany Cummings Macdowall, the active
Pastor of St. Agnes' f'hurcli, is a native of
Washington, District of Cohimbia, and is of a family
which has ah'eady given New York City a priest of
mark, in the person of liis uncle, the learned and brilliant
Dr. Jeremiah W. Cummings, so many years identified with
St. Stephen's Church.
The Rev. Mr. Macdowall was born in 1841, and was
sent at an early age to that great seminary of the Ameri-
can Church, Mount St. Mary's, Emmittsburg. After his
course there, having devoted himself to the service of God
in his church, he completed his divinity studies in the
College of the Propaganda at Rome. At the conclusion
of his studies he received minor orders, and the subdia-
conate and diaconate, and was ordained priest on the
13th of June, ISd?, in the basilica of St. John Lateran,
by his Eminence Cardinal Constantine Patrizi, Bishop of
Ostia and Velletri.
On his return to the United States, he entered on
the mission in the Diocese of New York, and was ap-
pointed by the IVIost Reverend Ai-chbishop, assistant at
St. Micliael's (^Imrcli. In that large parish he labored six
120
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
years, winning tlie approval of liis ecclesiastical superiors
and the attachment of the faithful among whom he min-
istered.
When the Most Reverend Archbishop saw, in 1873,
the necessity of establishing a new parish, he committed
the task to the Rev. Mr. Macdowall, as one who seemed
every way fitted to undertake and cany out, undiscour-
aged by disheartening circumstances, the erection of the
new chm'ch.
The forecast of the superior has not proved falla-
cious. The erection of a church like that of St. Agnes
is a striking monmnent of zeal, courage, and devotedness ;
and the continuance of the ap^jreciation of his Eminence
is shown clearly in the encoiu'aging words before he pro-
nounced his benediction on the day of the solemn dedi-
cation.
Popular with all classes, he has secured in a won-
derful degree the attachment of the flock Avhom it is his
province to guide and direct.
CHURCH OF ST. AGNES.
121
Roll of Honor.
Ahern, Mary, Miss.
Bolger, John.
Byrne, John.
Cahill, Michael.
Campbell, Bernard.
Carroll, Peter.
Conners, John H.
Conway, Frederick V.
Cronen, John F.
Curran, Michael R.
Donovan, Patrick J.
Draddy, Robert.
Duane, John.
Duffy, Mary F.
Eagan, John J.
Eagan, Thomas F.
Fogarty, William.
Ford, Thomas.
Gavin, Mary.
Haggerty, John.
Hardiman, Patrick.
Havey, James T.
Johnson, James.
Kelly, Annie M.
Kennedy, Elizabeth.
Loughlin, Thomas.
McCabe, Henry.
McCahill, B. F.
McDonald, E.
McElroy, Francis.
McGowan, -Michael.
McGrath, Martin N.
McHugh, Michael.
McManus, Philip H.
McQuade, Francis.
Maguire, John.
Mann, George.
Mansfield, Henry.
Matthews, John.
Miller, William.
Mullan, Michael.
Murphy, Kate.
Murray, Julia.
O'Connell, Edward.
O'Donnell, John J.
O'Hara, James.
O'Neill, Bernard.
Reilly, Lawrence, Mrs.
Ryan, Terese.
Yoniell, James.
CHURCH OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI.
SOUTH FIFTFI AVENUE.
CHURCH OF ST. ALPIIONSUS LIGUORI.
S O U '1' 11 1' I 1' r H A V E N U K .
THE German Catliollcs of New York owe an im-
mense debt of gratitude to the Fathers of the
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Tlie hibors of
individual priests liad been unable to meet the wants of
that rapidly increasing portion of the Catholics, and the
supply of secular priests was precarious; but when a
zealous and numerous body of missionaries entered the
field, they soon found that a chiu'ch in one part of the
city did not accomplish all they desired.
There had been no church on the west side of the
city ^\'here German Catholics could receive instruction in
their own language. In 1847, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes
authorized the Fathers of the Congregation of the ]\Iost
Holy Redeemer to establish a mission near the North
River. They secm-ed a jdot of ground in Thompson
Street, and there, on the 8th of September, the corner-
stone of a church, to be under the invocation of the holy
fomider of their congregation, St. Alphonsus Mar}' Liguori,
was laid by Bishop Hughes. Rarely has a church sprung
into existence with such speed as this one. In less
than three months, the edifice, under the impidse of Rev.
124
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Father Galiriel Emnpler, C.SS.R., was ready for the use of
the congreg-ation. Tlie Chiu'ch of St. Alphonsus was
eig'hty-six feet long- ]>y fifty feet Avide. It was plain and
iin])retending', and cost only five thonsand dollars; l^nt it
was complete, with a hig-li altar, a chapel of Onr Lady,
Avith a convenient sacristy behind, and little chapels on
either side of the sanctuary, connected with it by lateral
doorways, and reached from the aisles of the church by
open arches. There was a spacious gallery at the west
end, and tlie whole church was plastered and painted. The
basement was not yet ready for the school, but an out-
lay of a thousand dollars more would fit up proj^erly the
five needed class-rooms, as to which there would be no
delay.
On the 25th of November, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Hughes
dedicated this interesting- church with the usual ceremonial.
. The chm'ch seemed indeed under the patronag-e of
the great St. Alphonsus Liguori, who, great as a mis-
sionary, great as a bishop, great in the Order which he
founded, and the works he wrote, continues to instruct
the priests of the church by his theology, and to evan-
gelize the people of all lands by the priests of his con-
gregation, as his works continue to nom-ish piety in the
hearts of the faithful, winning them to the Love of Jesus,
by his Visits ; to the Love of Mary, by his Glories ; to
seek final perseverance, by his Treatise on Prayer ; and
to avoid sin, b}- his Commandments and Sacraments.
CHURCH OF ST. ALPIIONSUS LIGUOIII. 125
St. Alplionsiis is almost .1 saint of our own times.
Born at Naples, of an ancient noble family, September
26th, 1G96, he entered, after a pious and studious youth,
the profession of the law; but was soon convinced of the
hollowness of all earthly things, and entered the eccle-
siastical state. After his ordination, he began giving mis-
sions to revive the religious feelings and instruction of
the neglected classes. To carry on his work, he gath-
ered a few zealous priests, and founded at La Scala the
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. The feme @f
tlie wonders wrought by St. Alphonsus and his missioners
spread tlu-ough Italy. Pope Clement XIII., in 1762,
forced him to accept the See of St. Agatha dei Gotti.
He became a model for bishops, as he had been a model
for priests. Austerity and labor seemed to prolong an
existence prized by all. When nearly eighty, deaf, bent,
blind, he solicited permission to resign his see; the Pope
declined, not to deprive the diocese of the exami)le of
such sanctity. When finally Pius VI. yielded to his
entreaty, he retired to a house of his order at Nocera, and
died there at the age of ninety, August 1st, 1787, sanc-
tifying the time when Doctor Carroll was organizing the
Church here as Prefect, and the Pope was about to estab-
lish the See of Baltimore. He was beatified by Pope
Pius VII. in 1816, and canonized by Pope Gregory XVI.
in 1839.
The Chm-ch dedicated to this saint, wliom the late
126
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Sovereign Pontiff declared a Doctor of the Church, was,
from the first, jjroductive of great good. It was espe-
cially the parochial centre of the Germans on the west-
em side of the cit)^ ; but many English-speaking Catholics,
as there was no chiu-ch west of Broadway between
St. Peter's and St. Joseph's, availed themselves of the
services of St. Alphonsus. The cluu'ch was for many
years attended from the convent adjoining the Chm'ch
of the Most Holy Redeemer, in Third Street ; but in
1866, Archliishop McCloskey and the superiors of the order
agreed that it was more advisable to have some Fathers
residing permanently near the church, in order to give
the faithful their undivided attention. By a document of
the Most Reverend ArchVtishop, dated Sept. 24th, 1866, it
was to 1)0 no longer a parochial l)ut a missionary cliiu'ch.
The Fathers attached to it Avere allowed to i)reach and
hear confessions in all those languages in Avhich it was
thought they could render aid to the faithfid. ^loreover,
they were allowed to perform in said church all the ser-
vices and ecclesiastical functions prescribed and permitted
liy their rule. Accordingly, on the 9tli of November, the
Rev. F. Nicholas Jaeckel, C.SS.R., with some other mem-
bers of the congregation, took up their abode at the
parochial residence, No. 6 Thompson Street.
It was soon evident that the old clnu'ch was inade- **
quate to the wants of the mixed congregation that at-
tended it. Both the German and English-speaking portions.
ClIUKCir OF ST. ALniONSUS LIGUOIH. 127
Mttiiclicd alike to the fliurcli of St, Alplioiisus and tlie
iiiiiiistratloiis of the Fathers, ^vere anxious to rear a nobler
and more spacious structure in liis lioiior. A liuildin<^
society Avas soon formed, and German, Irish, and Ameri-
can Catholics co-operated in harmony.
Groinid was secured so as to run through from
Thompson to Lanrens, or South Fifth Avenue, and plans
dr«wn for tlie erection there of a clnirch, to be one
lumdred and sixty-two feet in length by eighty feet in
width. The corner-stone was laid on the 4th of Septem-
ber, IS 70, with imposing ceremonies. The children con-
nected with the school came in procession to the ground ;
a long line of clergy, preceding the Archbishop, next
arriveil, and took their stations on a platform. Con-
fraternities and temperance societies, with bands of music,
came in orderly succession, and di-ew up in double line
around the site of the church.
Archbishop ]\rc( 'loskey, in cope and mitre, proceeded
to the stone and blessed it in the manner prescribed by
the ritual of the Church, and, chanting the Miserere,
made the circuit of the ground mai'ked out for the sacred
edifice.
In his address to the vast audience, the Archbishop
congratulated the people and their pastors on the interest
they displayed, in which he himself joined most fully.
"You will not allow it to fail," he said; "you will give
and give again, and make generous sacrifices to this
128
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
work, which is to be, we trust, the source of niauy
blessing's in tlie midst of this vast, and alas ! I must
add, wicked cit}', that needs all the opportunities of
religious instruction, and sources of religious grace, and
means of heavenly benediction, that can possibly be
multiplied Avithin it."
After an addi-ess in German by Father Ilelmpraecht,
C.SS.R., the Archbishop closed the ceremonies of the day
Avitli his benediction.
In little more than a year, the new churcli was
ready to receive the flock around the altai". The modest
five thousand dollar chm'ch had been replaced by one
that cost two hundred and seventy-five thousand. Its
front is surmounted by a stone statue of the Holy
Doctor, raised to the spot April 28th, 1871. It is one
of the most impressive churches in the city, in the dim
religious light, the feeling of awe and repose that seems
to reign witliin. It is built solidl}- of brick, faced with
Ohio brown stone, varied with Ulster Coiuit}- blue stone,
and will seat eighteen hundi'ed j^ersons. After passing the
railing, on the line of the street, a flight of steps leads up
to the tln-ee portals. Confessionals line the sides of the
church, with the Stations of the Cross, carved in relievo, be-
tween them. The whole interior is beautiful in design
and decoration, leading the eye and thought to centre in
the altar. This was made in Munich, at a cost of twelve
thousand dollars, and is an elaborate and graceful work.
CHURCH OF ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI.
129
rifli in its green marble pillars, its profuse gilding, its
niches with statues of saints. The organ is worthy of
the rhurdi.
It was solemnly dedicated on the 7th of April, 1S72,
by his Grace the Archbishop of New York, assisted by
the Very Rev. William Starrs, V.G. ; Rev. Fathers Tschen-
hens, Cronenberg, and Wirth. After the prescribed cere-
monies, a Pontifical High Mass was offered l)y the Right
Re^^ Ignatius Persico, then Bishop of Savannah, ^^•it]l
Father Freitag as assistant. Father Schadler as deacon,
and Father Oberle as subdeacon. In the sanctuary were
a number of clergymen of New York and the adjoining
dioceses. Two sermons were preached — one in English
by the Rev. Joseph Henning, C.SS.R., of St. Louis, and
another in German by Rev. Father Loewekamp, C.SS.R.,
of Philadelphia.
After a few remarks, Arclibishop l\IcCloskey bestowed
his benediction, and the vast crowd dispersed, including
the Independent Rifle Company, the Societies of the
Churches (if the Most Holy Redeemer, Our Lad}- of Sor-
rows, St. John the Baptist, and St. Francis of Assisi. In
the evening. Bishop Persico delivered a sermon, closing
the consoling exer'-Ises of the first day In the new Chiu-ch
of St. Alphonsus.
On the 28th of the same month, the church wit-
nessed a sj^ectacle peculiarly consoling to the Irish por-
tion of the faithful attending the church. The members
9
130
CATHOLIC CllUECUES OF NEW YORK.
of the St. Patrick's Alliance, Father Matthew Temperance
Societies, and other similar bodies, moved from Union
Square to the cluu'ch, the first society bearing a beauti-
ful green banner given to the Alliance by the Nun of
Kenmare. An eloquent sermon was })reached by Father
Burke, C.S.SR., who solemnly blessed the banner.
Since its erection it has been constantly increasing its
good work, and is a favorite with many a\'1io at certain
times can even attend mission services here and yet fol-
low their regular work. The sight of stalwart, serious men
pouring out of a church at a dim hour of the morning, in
their working garb, impressed all who beheld it, and a
foreign artist sketched the scene as one of the most
striking tliat he had witnessed in America.
Connected with the church are the following socie-
ties : St. Michael's Beneficial Society, St. Alphonsus' Bene-
ficial Societv, and St. Alphonsus' Temperance Society. It
has a well managed parochial school-house, where about
two hundred and fifty children are instructed by four
School Sisters of Notre Dame.
St. Alphonsus Church has liad tlie following rectors : —
Nov. 7, 18G6, Rev. Nicholas Jaeckel, C.SS.R.
Jidy, 1868, Rev. Fekreol Girardey, C.SS.R.
Feb., 1870, Rev. William Wayricu, C.SS.R.
Dec, 1872, Rev. Eugene Grimm, C.SS.R.
July, 1877, Rev. Joseph Wirth, C.SS.R., who is now
assisted by seven priests.
CHUliCII OF ST. ALl'HONSUS LIGUORI. 131
REV. JOSEPH WIRTII, C.SS.R.,
PASTOR OF ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, SOUTH FIFTH AVENUE.
THIS clergyman, wlio has directed the church for the
hist year, was horn in 1832 at Coblentz on the
Rhine, in the territory of Prussia. After passing through
the gymnasium in his native phice, where he kept him-
self unsullied, he made his choice of a state of life. Leav-
ing home and country behind, he proceeded to Belgium,
and at the age of eighteen applied for admission as a candi-
date in the novitiate at St. Trond. He soon came to the
United States with other missionaries of the order, and
completed his theological studies at the House of Studies,
established by the Redeniptorists at Cumberland, Mary-
land. He received the holy order of priesthood from the
hands of the learned and Most Rev. Francis Patrick
Kenrick, D.D., Ai-chbishop of Baltimore, in June, 1857.
He was engaged in missionaiy labor for more than ten
years, residing at various houses of liis order. From 1859
to 1862 he was connected with the Redemptorist Convent
attached to the Church of St. Alphonsus, on Saratoga
Street, Baltimore. The next two years we find him among
the priests of St. Peter's Convent, Philadelphia, who direct
the Chm-ch of St. Peter, on Fifth and Franklin Avenues ;
then again in the Church of St. Alphonsvis, Baltimore.
132 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
The life of a religious of this order is spent in
study, iu the constant exercise of the ministry — preaching,
visiting the sick, hearing confessions, and counseling or
directing the many who come to such experienced priests
for guidance : now perhajDS a Protestant in whose mind
and heart the light of truth and grace are struggling
with the prejudices and calumnies instilled from child-
hood ; again some Catholic, long remiss, a prey to doubt,
or one fervent, faitliful, but pei-plexed Avith cares, anxi-
eties, uncertainties ; mothers anxious for their sons or
daughters ; wives wishing to reclaim husbands ; souls
feehng called to a higher life ; others with no fixed
ideas; all requiring patience, judgment, and knowledge of
religion and of the human heart to guide aright. In
1868, the Rev. Father Wu-th was appointed rector of St.
Michael's Chirrch, Baltimore, and in 1871, the i-ector of
the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, in Third Street,
New York, a position of great importance and responsi-
bility, which he filled to the satisfaction of all.
In July, 1877, he became pastor of the Chm-ch of
St. Alphonsus, and superior of the little community of
Fathers who occupy the convent adjoining the church,
where they cany out in an edifying manner the iiile
of the holy doctor of the Chm-ch who founded the con-
gregation to which they belong, and who is the revered
patron of the chm-ch imder their care.
The associates of the reverend pastor in the year
CHURCH OF ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI.
133
1878 were the Rev. Eugeue Griimn, C.SS.R; the Rev.
Adam Kreis, C.SS.R.; the Rev. Phihi^ Rossbach, C.SS.R.;
the Rev. Charles Rathke, C.SS.R.; the Rev. James Keltz,
C.SS.R.; the Rev. Matthew Bohn, C.SS.R.; and the Rev.
Phihp Colonel, C.SS.R.
Roll of Honor.
Alberi'iz, Jacob.
Angermeyer, Andrew.
Aufenanger, Anton.
Aufenanger, F.
Aufenanger, John.
Aufenanger, J. L.
Baeder, Catharine.
Bampf, Joseph.
Bechold, George.
Beine, Herman.
Berger, Catharine.
Berk, Peter.
Biegel, Mrs.
Blank, Anna.
Blank, George.
Blesch, John.
Blessncr, Clement.
Blum, llennan.
Bode, W.
Boes, Werner.
Bracht, W.
Braeker, William.
Brager, William.
Bruns, Joseph.
Burkhardt, E.
Buschmann, Bernard.
Cort, John.
Dahman, Henry.
Dahn, Christina.
Decker, Elizabeth.
Deiter, Louis.
Deitmering, Gerhard.
Derenthal, W.
Dierker, Hubert.
Dryer, John.
Dumpel, Henry.
Uumpel, Joseph.
Ehrhardt, Emilia.
Engel, B.
Etzel, Albert.
Etzel, Joseph.
Etzel, Philip.
Fahle, John.
Ferber, Gottfried.
Fett, Anna.
Firnstein, B.
Fischer, Martin.
Fleckner, John.
Fleischer, E.
Fleischer, M.
Fries, Margaret.
Germetden, J.
Gersbach, Joseph.
Haffner, Charles.
Hahn, Anna.
Halk, Jacob B.
Hanakamp, Franz.
Hartman, August.
Heberman, George.
Heide, Henry.
Heidnes, Arnold.
Heinrich, John.
Hensle, George.
Henze, W. J.
Kerch, Frank.
Herdt, Minnie.
Herm, Xavier.
Hitzel, Anna M.
Horn, John A.
Hoppe, August.
Hufen, N.
Hughes, Patrick, Mrs.
Huhua, John, Jr.
Horstman, Caspar.
Keck, Henry.
Kirchner, Caspar.
Klovekorn, Henry.
Kliimke, Gerard.
Klung, Andrew.
Knapp, Franz.
Knaup, Franc, Mrs.
Knoedel, Vic, Mrs.
Kracht, Franz.
Kretzdorn, Ignatius.
Krompfeifer, A.
Krompfeifer, W.
Kuclmer, Caspar.
Lammle, Joseph.
Lecher, John.
Leinneweber, John.
Link, Joseph.
Linneman, Henry.
Liiking, P., Mrs.
Mainardy, Henry.
Mattes, John.
Millemann, Catharina.
Miiller, Bernard.
Miiller, John.
Miiller, "Nicholas.
Mumbach, Matthias.
Mutz, Martin.
Nalter, Franz.
Neckert, Franz.
Nutt, John.
Nutt, Louis.
Ocker, Anton.
Oehnhausen, ]".
Oehnhausen, Louis.
Ott, John.
Otten, Joseph.
Pohle, John.
Pugel, Anton.
Rebholz, J.
Rehermann, Charles.
Ridder, Herman.
Riegler, Jacob.
Rittweger, John.
Sachs, Michael.
Baling, Frederick.
Sassa, Charles, Mrs.
Schaumwecker, Calh.
Schmidt, A.
Schmidt, Jacob.
Schmidt, Josejih.
Schneider, Daniel.
Schrapfer, John.
Schussler, John.
Seller, Margaret.
Serf, Nicholas.
Siefers, August.
Sommer, Charles.
Staab, Henry.
Stengel, Caspar.
Stoll, Jacob.
Thiel, Nicholas.
Thole, Henry.
Thone, Frederick,
Uhl, George.
Volker, Joseph.
Voss, Frederick.
Walgerin, Amelia, Mrs.
Weiserbach, Joseph.
Wertzen, Catherine.
Wilhelm, Anton.
Wingenfeld, Moritz.
Winkle, John.
Wuhl, Barbara.
Zink, Margaret.
(J li U U C H () F S A I N 'J' AND R E W
ULANE STKKKT AND (TTY TIAU, PLACE
ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH.
DUANE STREET AND CITY HALE PEACE.
WHEN the Catholics of New York began to agi-
tate against the injustice whicli deprived their
paroc-hial schools of the portion of the fund so long paid
to them, and so honestly and beneficially expended, in order
to devote the whole school money of the community to
the Public School Society, in whose institutions Catholic
children were required to learn as lessons insults to their
faith and libels on theii* clergy, the meetings foiuid no
convenient place of assemblage. The basements of St.
James' and other churches were at first used, but as it
became evident that the stru"'<'le for their ri"hts as American
citizens was not to be a Ijrief one, a hall in a central
position became desirable. It is one of the curious facts
in relation to New York City that you can almost always
find a Protestant church for sale. This has often proved
advantageous, and did so in the present case. In 1818,
the Universalists erected on the corner of Duane Street
and Augustus, now City Hall Place, a substantial brick
liuilding sixty-seven feet square. The congregation had
faded away; the basement \\as used for storing wine and
ale. The leasehold on the property, which had nineteen
years to run, was accordingly purchased by the Catholics
136 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
earlv in 1.S41, for $5,400, ^\itli tlie view of using- the
building for their meeting-s. It received the name of
Carroll Hall, and as such it became identified witli the
agitation and with the ticket wliich the Catholics were
forced to adopt when the politicians of the two politi-
cal parties pledged themselves to resist their claim.
A more equitable school system was at last adopted
by the Legislatm'e, and the immediate need passed for
maintaining a public hall ; but Bishop Hughes found
that the growing Catholic j^opulation in that neighborhood
required a new church, the accommodations afforded by
St. Peter's, the Transfigm-ation, and St. James', being insuf-
ficient.
The project waj^ warmly taken xip by the Rev. An-
di-CAv Byrne, long pastor of St. James', and by his zeal
and energy the building was speedily repaired and fitted
up for the offering of the Holy Sacrifice according to
our admirable and ancient ritual; and ere long the fee
was acquired, and it became entirely Catholic property.
On the 19th of March, 1842, it was solemnly ded-
icated in honor of St. Andi-ew by the Right Reverend
Bishop Hughes, who delivered a sermon long remem-
bered by the people whose happiness it Avas to hear
his eloquent words. The High Mass was celebrated by
Bishop Benedict J. Fenwick of Boston, who had in early
life labored so earnestly and devoutly to Ijuild up Cath-
olicity in om- city. In the sanctuary were many of the
ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH. 137
prie.sts of the (•liurclu'S on tlie island, tlu'ee of whom,
Rev. Mes.srs. IJyrne, Quarter, and Bacon, wen? soon to
become members of tlie liierarchy.
Tlie Churches of the two holy Apostles — " The first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother" —
thus stand about equally distant from our municipal Park,
as if guardians of oiu* cit}''s weal.
It was the j)rivile<'e of St. Andrew to be the first
of the Apostles to know oiu' Lord, and his special grace
to have Jesus ])ointed out to him as the promised
Messias by St. John the Baptist, whose disciple he was.
He it was who led to the feet of Jesus his greater
brother Peter, and humljh' took an inferior place among
the chosen disci2:)les. His field of missionary labor was that
part of Southern Russia where France and England grap-
pled with her power, and the parts of Turkey just swept
by the ]\Iuscovite hordes. His glorious life closed as did
his brother's, by martyrdom on the cross; but its form
differed also from our Lord's, being like the letter X.
He won his triumph at Patra, in Greece, and is honored
as a special patron by Russia and by Scotland.
The Rev. Andrew Byrne became the pastor of this
new church, and soon after, on the 1st of Ma}-, deliv-
ered an eloqiient discourse on the life, character, and
services of Bishop England, then recently deceased. He
organized the parish with the abilit}- he had elsewhere
displayed, but w;is not long afterwards called away to
138
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
direct the new Churcli of the Nativity, in which he liad
been interested fmm tlie first. He was succeeded hy
the Rev. John Maginness, also fi-oni St. James' Chiu'ch.
Under his direction the parisli Ijecame important in nnm-
hers and the increasing fidehty of the ])eople to all the
duties required by their f\xith.
In 1850 the pastorship was confided by the Host
Reverend Archbishop to a priest already experienced in
parochial life, who was continuing the zealous hil)ors of
his uncle and namesake, for many j'ears a priest in the
Diocese of New York. This was the Rev. IVIichacl T'ur-
ran, Jr., who was appointed to St. Andrew's C'lnn-ch in
lSf)0, and is still, after twenty-eight years' pastoral labor,
its parish ])riest. The long connection shows the har-
mony existing between the pastor and his ilock, and its
annals also show that the churcli retained as assistant,
for nearly twenty years, a Polish jn-iest, kno^vn to many
of our citizens, the Rev. Lewis Terhykowicz.
Among the interesting incidents in the history of the
chiu'ch, may be noted an impressive one on the 30th of
May, 1858. Nearly five hundred persons were confirmed.
Among them, an aged and infirm man named John Burns,
who had never received that sacrament, was sup2)orted to
the sanctuary. But the effort was too much for his tot-
terinof strength. He sank down on the floor of the sane-
tuary. Archbishop Hughes proceeded to the s2)ot and
confirmed him. Full of happiness, and A\'ith silent jjrayers,
S'I\ ANDREWS r'TITTRr'TT. J^f)
he A\'as removed, and expired almost iiimiediately, tlie
iiiictiou of confii-mation l)eiiig' lils last.
In iSf)!), the city, carrying out some improvements,
decided to widen I»iiane Street and open Reade fStreet
tlirongh to C'liatliam. Tliis new line, established by the
Commissioners, cut oflf a considerable jjortiou of the front
of St. Andrew's Church, leaving, in fact, so little of the
original building as to render it no longer of ain" use
for church jinrposes. Yet so unjust was the assessment,
that while only eight thousand dollars was allowed foi-
the damage thus done, the congregation were called uj)on
to i)av ten thousand dollars for the imairinarv benefit
they were to receive.
It became necessary for the pastor and congregation
to decide upon a course. The house adjoining the church
had some years before been secured as a residence for
the pastor. Antiquarians pointed it out as one of the
houses occupied for a time by George AYashington ; l)ut
St. Andrew's Chm'cli could be maintained only by remov-
ing this building and extending the church over the ground.
It was accordingly purchased, and a plan ado2)ted for
remodeling and beautifying the Ijuilding, by erecting a
new front on the proposed sti-eet line, renio^'ing the altar
to the north end, and decorating the interior.
Notwithstanding the hard times, the zealous pastor
pushed on the Avork rapidly, and adding a spire to the
chm-ch, he extended it twenty-five feet in the rear, and
140 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
there erected a very beautiful altar, surmounted by a
very artistic painting of the Crucifixion, witli paintings
of St. Patrick and St. Andrew on either side. Above
tlie altar rose a tabernacle of very chaste design, fitly
crowned l)y an exquisite ivory crucifix. The whole interior
was also frescoed in a superior manner.
The remodeled church, thus creditably completed, was
solemnly dedicateil on the 20th of October, 18G1, by
the Very Rev. William Starrs, Vicar-General of the Dio-
cese, who celebrated High Mass, assisted by the Rev.
John McCloskey, Vice-President of Mount St. Mary's
College, and the Rev. Sylvester Malone, of Brooklyn,
as deacon and subdeacon, and the Rev. Francis McNeir-
ny, now Bishop of Albany, as master of ceremonies.
The Rt Rev. John Loughlin, Bishop of Brookl^Ti, de-
livered a sermon from the text, " Render unto Csesar the
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are
God's."
At the solemn vespers in the evening, Dr. McQuaid,
now Bishop of Rochester, delivered a discom'se on the
goodness, jiower, and magnificence of Mary.
The basement of the chm'ch was fitted up as a con-
venient and attractive chapel, and the congregation proved
their appreciation of the new edifice by their zeal and
liberality. An Altar Society showed the devotion of the
ladies ; a Rosary Society, the fervor of the congregation ;
while theu' care for the poor was shown in the relief
ST. ANDREWS CnURCTI. 141
afforded b}' the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the
Ladies' Benevolent Society.
The Sunday-schools, attended by neaidy a thousand
childi-en, proved that the rising generation were well
trained in the faith of their fathers.
The congregation had for some years peacefully wor-
shiped in their restored church, so creditable to their
taste and piety, when its annals were dimmed by a sad
and terrible accident. As time -vent on, a large commer-
cial building was erected beside the modest shrine of St.
Andrew, overtopping its roof and cross. In the winter of
1874-5, a fire broke out in this building, then occupied
by a great crockery firm. Wlien the flames had con-
sumed the wood-work the tall walls were left, and ]jy a
criminal neglect were not secured in any way. The
church received some slight damage from fire and water,
but was not materially injm-ed.
Unsuspicious of danger, the congregation of St. Andrew's
continued to use their church, and during the Lenten sea-
son the sacred edifice was densely crowded. On the even-
ing of Thursday, February 25, 1875, while all were listen-
ing intently to a sermon on Death, from the Rev. Thomas
CaiToll, of St. Stephen's, there was a sound of rushing wind,
a rattling of windows, followed by a crash as of a^^ful
thunder. The plastering on the east side of the ceiling
gave way, and pointed fragments of rafters were di'iven
down on the people in the galleries. One woman, Mary
142 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Gr. Conners, was killed on the spot, and all the rest rushed
madly towards the door, in a frantic desire to escape.
On the stairs many were injured, and although the clergy,
hastening to the spot, endeavored to allay the panic and
restore calm, four persons were crushed to death. To the
pastor, to whom every member of the flock had grown
dear in his long pastorate, this sad accident was a terrible
affliction. Overcome by his deep feeling and grief, he
offered a solemn requiem for them in St. Peter's.
St. Andrew's C'luu-ch, of wliich the pastor and people
had been so proud, was a wreck, tinged with sad and
mournful memories ; but the main structure was still firm,
and the Rev. Mr. Curran proceeded to restore it once
more, and fit it for his people. The falling Avail had crush-
ed in a part of the roof, carrying rafters and beams with it,
and filling the church with ruin. The restoration re(piired
new care and expense ; but St. Andre\v's came forth more at-
tractive than ever, and was again dedicated to God's service.
The zeal of the congregation may be seen in the fact
that, in the last collection for the benefit of the American
College at Rome, that seminary, erected by Pojie Pius
IX. of blessed memory, wliich has sent forth so many
learned and zealous priests, the little Chm-ch of St. An-
di-ew led all others in the amount of its contribution.
His Holiness Pope Leo XIII. evinced his appreciation of
this liberality by presenting to the venerable pastor an
elegant gold chalice for the congregation.
{j]'yl^^yA^^<.^.^<L^
ST. ANDREWS (JUUllCH. 143
REV. ]\riCnAEL OURKAN,
PASTOR OF ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH.
THE venerable pastor of St. Ancli-ew's is now, in
point of ordination as well as in the lengtli of his
pastorship, one of tlie oldest priests of the Diocese of New
York. He was born neai' Emyvale, in the County of
Monaghan, Ireland, in 1813. His boyish ideas all looked
to America as his future home, and he studied away in
the determined Avay natvu-al to him, to lit himself for the
battle of life. Thouj^li he left his native countr}- at the
early age of thirteen, it is characteristic of him that liis
name was already signed in his bo}^ chirography to a
monster ])etition in fiuor of Catholic Emancipation.
He landed in Dehuvare, and was welcomed in Penn-
sylvania by his uncle, then pastor at Harrisburg, and
subsequently well known in New York.
The young man was soon sent to ]\Iount St. Mary's
College, at Emmittsbm-g, Maryland, where he spent four
years, acquitting himself well and creditably. On leav-
incr that institution he went into mercantile life, and was
for some years in the iby goods business at Rochester;
but his mind and heart tiuned to the sanctuary, and wise
directors guided the impulse.
He accordingly proceeded to Canada, and spent eight-
144
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
een months in a seminary near Montreal ; bnt Bishop
Hughes had meanwliile estahhshed a diocesan seminary at
Rose Hill, Fordham, and summoned the yoiuiy Levite to
complete his course of divinity there. Here he Avas among
the first to enroll his name, and, persevering in his ^■o-
cation, was ordained by Bishop Hughes, in the chapel
attached to the institution, on the 14th of April, 1844.
As he had evinced no little skill in management,
ha])} lily condjining firmness with gentle persistence and
great system, he was made prefect of discipline in St.
John's College, and for a year discharged the duties of
the arduous post with general satisfaction.
He was then permitted to begin his career as a
missionary priest in a great city; and, as assistant at
St. James' Church, had a jjosition that reqiured great
jiatience, charit}', endurance, and zeal. The probation
showed his qualities, and Bishop Hughes sent him to
the parish of St. John the Evangelist. That cluu'ch had
just been sold imder a foreclosure, and his charge was one
of difficulty. For two years, the Rev. Mr. Curran assem-
bled his parishioners in the building which had many
years previous been occupied by the Jesuit Fathers as
a college. Here he said mass, and, by laboring, nego-
tiating, and collecting, sacrificing all personal comfort to
the end in view, he succeeded in rejiurchasing the church
on favorable terms, and in one year reduced the debt
incurred from eight thousand to two thousand dollars.
ST. ANDKEW.S CllUliClI. 145
His success induced the bishop to appoint liim to
St. I'c'ter's, then nuich involved, hiit he slu-ank from the
task, and accepted readily the liunibler position of j)astor
of St. Anih-ew's, in 1850. His labors in that parish we
have seen.
Tlie Rev. Mr. Ciu'ran found the church in great finan-
cial embarrassment, but he so won on his people that
his fii'st call on them to meet a long standing debt —
a srenerous loan made at the commencement of the church,
and now neeil('(l by the lender to enable him to return,
an invalid, to his native land — was so liberally met that
he had a svu-phis for other claims also.
During a few years of his pastorship, the Rev. Mr.
CmTan, by constant exertion, succeeded in relieving his
church entirely from a debt of $22,000. Ha\-ing cleared
the chm'cli of debt, he secured a pastoral residence ; then
restored the chiu-ch when the cit}- had wrecked it, and
paid off most of the debt incm-red, and has since been
compelled to restore it once more.
The restoration in 1859 was not accomplished with-
out great personal exertion on the part of the pastor, as
the cost amounted to over fifty thousand dollars, including
the purchase of a new parochial residence. Within the
year from the connnencement of the Avork, the Rev. ]\Ir.
CmTan, by collections, lectures, and fairs, paid off no less
than twenty-seven thousand dollars.
In the fearful accident, he was nearly addci] to the
10
146 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
victims. The chair on which he sat was crushed to
atoms, and he was covered with dust and plaster ; but
without a thought for himself, he hastened at once to
still the panic, and prevent, as far as he could, the fatal
consequences. That many more did not perish is due,
in no small degree, to his coolness and power of com-
mand.
His residence, simple and plain as liimself and his
flock, shows the affection of his people. A beautiful and
enduring marble table bears indelibly his name and that
of the chui'ch, so long associated in the hearts of the
faithful; and on the mantel stands a frame with a poet-
ical tribute from the Sisters of Mercy, to one who has
for thirty years been their earnest friend and supporter.
ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH.
147
Roll of Honor.
Bennett, George.
Bowers, Charles W.
Broderick, Edward.
Burke, Michael.
Burney, Ann, Mrs.
Byrne, Hugh.
Campbell, James.
Carleton, John.
Cavanagh, Michael.
Clancy, James.
Clarke, Francis J.
Clifford, James.
Comerford, Ellen, Mrs.
Conway, John.
Corrigan, P.
Costello, James.
Cox, Bridget.
Curtis, Mary, Mrs.
Devins, Patrick.
Divver, Patrick.
Downey, Cornelius J.
Doyle, James P.
Doyle, Patrick.
Driscoll, Daniel.
Duane, Michael.
Dunleavy, Bridget.
Dunphy, James.
Emmett, Charles.
Fitzgerald, Thomas.
Flynn, James.
Flynn, Patrick.
Foley, Michael.
Foster, Charles.
Freel, Hugh.
Freel, Patrick.
Gallagher, Martin.
Geraghty, Ennis.
Gougherty, Bernard.
Grady, M.
Hamill, T.
Harrington, William.
Healey, Jane.
Hennessy, Eliza.
Higgins, Patrick.
Hurley, Thomas H.
Jones, Morgan.
Keane, Maurice.
Kearns, Joseph.
Kennedy, William H.
Kerwin, Michael.
Lewis, John.
Lysaght, Mary, Mrs.
McCann, Owen.
McClaine, Alexander.
McCloskey, Andrew, Jr.
McGuire, Mary, Mrs.
McKenna, Ann, Mrs.
Mackey, John.
McPartland, Daniel.
Martin, Patrick.
Martin, Patrick, Jr.
Mehegan, Patrick.
Melvin, Matthew.
Mitchell, John.
Molaghan, Mary A., Mrs.
Moloney, William H.
Molony, Edward.
Mountjoy, William.
Mukloon, Patrick.
Muliins, John, Mrs.
Mulrooney, Cath., Mrs.
Murray, Ann, Mrs.
Nicholson, John.
Nugent, William S.
O'Brien, John D.
O'Callahan, Dennis.
O'Connor, Dennis J.
O'Connor, Lucy, Mrs.
O'Connor, Thomas.
O'Dea, John, Mrs.
O'Donohue, Patrick.
O'Leary, Timothy.
O'Neil, Cornelius.
O'Neil, Daniel.
O'Rourke, Francis.
O'Sullivan, Ellen.
Perfetti, Margaret, Mrs.
Riordan, Eugene.
Rouse, John.
Russell, Michael.
Ryan, James.
Ryan, Mary T.
Shea, John B.
Smith, Hugh.
Skehan, Murtha.
Smith, P. M.
Tallon, Patrick.
Ward, Patrick.
Whelan, Jane, Mrs.
CHURUII OF SAINT ANN.
EAST TWELFTH STREET.
SAINT ANN'S CHURCH
EAST TWELFTH STIJKET.
ON East Twelfth Street, between Tliird and Fourth
Avenues, stands an ekignnt Frencli Gothic church,
of very pure design and of noble dimensions, dedicated
to St. Ann, the ho]y spouse of St. Joachim and mother
of the Blessed Virgin IMarA'.
It is one of the triumphs of Mary, that even in
those sects that have cut themselves off from the Church
of her Divine Son, she has, in a manner, forced them
to continue to dedicate churches in her own honor, and
even in honor of her holy mother. Tliere were Protestant
churches of St. Ann in this cou-ntry before Catholics had
erected on(}.
In 1852, the want of a church somewhere in the
vicinit}' of Astor Place began to be felt. As the ex-
act position of the futm-e church of the parish could
scarcely be decided, the Most Reverend Archbishop deter-
mined to secure some convenient building for temporary
use. A church stood on Eightli Street offering itself to
the buyer. It was not without its history Years be-
fore, it had reared its spire on Murray Street, and
echoed to the voice of jMason, a once famous preacher
150 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
of Calvin's terrible tenets. In time it had been taken
down, stone by stone, carted np to Eighth Street, and
rebnilt. As a Presbyterian church it did not succeed;
it became Episcopal, then Presbyterian again. Its halls
had heard indeed many forms of error, l)ut the time had
come, as Mr. Disosway suggests, when disheartening dog-
mas and unscriptural worship were to give way to the
consoling faith, the .apostolic liturgy of the Chiu'ch of the
Li^^ng• God.
The building once acquired was speedily adapted to
the noblest and hohest form of worship, the altar and
chancel being the work of Mr. Walsh, an excellent archi-
tect. The chiu'ch was dedicated to Almighty God under
the invocation of St. Ann, on the 1st of June, 1852.
Seldom has a church dedication gathered so many dis-
tinguished bishops as were seen that day in the sanctuary
of the new church. Besides the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop of New York, there might be seen Bishops Miles
of Nashville, Fitzpatrick of Boston, O'Connor of Pitts-
burgh, and Spaulding of Louisville, with the Rev. Messrs.
Loughlin and Bacon, subsequently bishops. Very Rev.
William Starrs, Dr. Pise, and many of the city clergy.
The dedication ceremonies were performed by Bishop
Miles of Nashville, and when the building had thus been
set apart for Catholic worship, the Rt. Rev. John B.
Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Boston, celebrated a Pontifical High
Mass, with the learned Dr. Jeremiah W. Cummings as
SAINT ANN'S CHURCH. 151
deacon, tlie Rev. George McCloskey as subdeacon, and
tlie Rev. Annet Lafont as assistant. After tlie semion the
Rt. Rev. Michael O'Connor, IVishop of Pittsburgh, preached
a very able and eloquent sermon, taking as his text the
words of the gospel: "An adulterous generation seeketh
for a sign ; a sign sliall not be given it, but the sign
of Jonas the prophet."
Tlie new church thus placed under the patronage of
St. Ann was soon well attended. Devotion to this model
of mothers is less diffused among us than among our
neighbors, the Catholics of Canada, where a celebrated
pilgrimage has long endeared her to the pious by the
many favors obtained through her intercession; the In-
dians, too, who were won in early times by the French
missionaries, shared the devotion, and all their chm-ches
in Maine are dedicated to St. Ann.
She was the wife of St. Joachim, and their holy
life of domestic peace, affection, and piety, had but one
trial, which it required all their virtue to bear. They
Avere childless. This was then a reproach among the
Jews, and was looked upon almost as a punishment from
God. Tradition says that St. Ann, treated with contumely
on that account, offered special sacrifices in the temple
of God to be delivered from her reproach. A daughter
was given to her, in A\hom all the nations of the earth
were to be blessed, who Avas to be saluted by an angel
from heaven and become the mother of the long ex-
162
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
pected Messias. Their child was, however, a special gift
from Heaven, and they consecrated her specially to God,
presenting her in the temple at the age of three. Blessed
in seeing her grow up in piety witliin those sacred walls,
they died full of gladness and holy hope, before her
beti'othal to St. Joseph, as the silence of the gospels
evidently gives us to understand.
The Church of St. Ann was confided to the Rev.
John Murray Forbes, who remained in charge of the
mission till the year 1859, assisted from time to time by
various clergymen. The Rev. H. T. Brady then directed
it for a short time, but in 1862 the parish was confided
to the care of the worthy Chancellor of the (li(icese.
Rev. Thomas S. Preston, whose name has ever since lieen
identified with the Church of St. Ann.
He made great improvements in the interior, and
replaced the altar by one fiir grander, and obtained one
of the largest organs then in the city. The church met
the wants of the parish for a few years longer, but it soon
stood in the centre of a business population, and there Avas
no ground near that could be acquired at any reasonable
price for a pastoral residence or for schools and other
parochial use. It was finally determined to abandon the
old site and seek a new location for St. Ann's. Ground
was obtained running tlu^ough from Eleventh to Twelfth
Street, part of it being covered by a building erected
as a Jewish synagogue. St. Ann is a saint of the
SAINT ANN'S CHURCH. 153
old law, aiifl as tli(^ Clmrch of the new law thus shows
her union with the past, it was not without a certain
analogy that a church of St. Ann should rise on the
spot where the ancient Jewish service Avas recited in the
language which she had heard in her day in the temple
and s}Tiagogue. The corner-stone of the new church was
laid by the Vicar General of the diocese, the Very Rev.
AVilliam Starrs, on Sunday, July 1st, 1870.
The Very Rev. Dr. Preston resolved to make his
new church at once splendid and enduring. It is one
hundred and sixty-six feet in length and sixt)'-three feet
eight inches in width, the architecture being the pvu-e
French Gothic of the thirteenth century. The plan was
to erect a solid and svxbstantial editice, and no cost was
spared to insure permanent beauty. The Ijuilding cost one
hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and was completed
in the latter part of the year 1870. Tlie interior is
divided into a nave, Avith a clerestory and aisles. The
nave terminates in an apsis at the southern end, which
gives ample space for the high altar and two cliapels.
On each side of the church runs a galler)', but not ex-
tending so fiir as to overlook the altar, stopping Avithin
thirty feet of the chancel. The ceilings of the nave and
aisles are groined, and the exterior of the pews and the
front of the galleries are executed in hard wood. Tlie
sacristies are between the church and the school building.
The interior decorations are not glaring, but quiet- and
154
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
subdued, giving tlie church a devotional, without a gloomy
look, and that eminent sense of quiet which falls so sooth-
ingly on a mind vexed and perplexed l)y the cares of
this world.
No })ortion of the former structure was retained in
the new church except a part of the front wall, Avhich
was used without impairing symmetry or strength.
In the rear of the church, and fronting Eleventh
Street, was erected a well-built parochial school-hovise,
seventy-five feet by forty feet, and four stories in height,
with a capacious basement. It is fitted uji with all the
improvements that have been tested and accepted in
schools generally.
This fine church was dedicated on the 1st day of
January, 1871, the Most Reverend Archbishop performing
the ceremony. The ritual calls for a procession around
the church, and then aroun<l the interior, sprinkling the
walls with holy water, accompanied by prayer. The
former part of the ceremony is seldom possible with our
city churches, which are closely surrounded by other
buildings ; but the procession moves around within, chant-
ing the Miserere and the Litany of the Saints, with a
special invocation asking God to vouchsafe to cleanse and
bless the church and altar to His honor, and in the pres-
ent case in the name of St. Ann. Then comes the special
prayer : "0 God, who hallowest the places dedicated to
thy name, pour forth upon this house of prayer, thy
SAINT ANN'S CHURCH. 155
grace, that all who here invoke thy name may feel tlie
help of tliy mercy."
After the close of the touching- dedicatory service.s,
the altar was adorned for the sacrifice, and a Solemn
High j\rass Avas offered np, the celebrant being the A^icar
General, the Very Rev. AYilliam Starrs; the deacon, the
Rev. R. L. Ikn-tsell, D.I)., pastor of the Chm-ch of the
Epiphan}', who had for a time been assistant at the
former church; the subdeacon, the Rev. J. A. Keog-h;
the master of ceremonies, the Rev. Francis McNeirny,
then secretary to the Archbishop, assisted by the Rev.
W. C. Poole. The music was worthy of the occasion,
being under the direction of Prof Louis Dachauer, the
org-anist of the church, a grand orchestra blending its
sti-ains Avith those of the noble org-an.
The sermon was delivered by the Most Rev. John
McCloskey of Albany, now Cardinal and Archbishop of
New York; his text being from the sublime prophecy of
St. John, Apoc, xxi. 2 : " And I John saw the holy
city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven,
from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice from the tlu-one, saying. Be-
hold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell
with them. And they shall be his people, and God him-
self with them shall be their God."
After congratulating the congregation and their worthy
pastor on the completion of the work, which had for so
156 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
long- a time occiipied tlieir thoughts and demonstrated
tlieh- zeal, he showed that the Almighty had from the
l)eg-inning prescribed various formalities, which invested
the place of sacrifice with a certain sacred character,
and that blessings might be expected by the faithful for
their devotion to their temples. It was onl}- when Cath-
olics looked with the eye of faith at the sacred con-
tents of their tabernacles, and contemplated the sublime
dogma of Christ's sacramental presence on their altars,
the secret of the Chin-cli's unity of faith, tliat they
could realize why the Church has ever sought to render
sanctuaries as splendid as the ^^•orld's wealth can make
them, and why they have an abiding hope that tlieir
exertions in this regard will meet with due acknowledg-
ment from Him who is justice itself
In this sacred edifice the Blessed Sacrament Avould
now be offered up daily for the spiritual strengthening
of the faithful. Innumerable were the advantages which
the Catholics of the pnrish w^ould derive from the church,
which had that day been solemnly blessed. Henceforth
it would stand to testify to the strength of their relig-
ious faith, and be at the same time the fountain of many
benedictions for them.
Here would come the sinner, bending beneath the
weight of sin, to find peace and j^fii'tlon in the tribunal
of penance. From this altar the Clu'istian soul, refreshed
by the Bread of Angels, would go forth with renewed
SAINT ANN'S CH[:RCH. 157
strength to battle agfiinst the enemies of salvation. Here
they would come to send up their prayers, and to as-
sist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, beseeching- the
Giver of all good gifts to visit them with such bless-
ings as in His mercy and kninvledge He saw to be
necessary for their sjiiritual welfare.
"I sincerely pray that God will give you all the
grace of final perseverance in virtue, so that after doing
your duty here below, you may at last, when God calls
you hence, die the death of the just, and be permitted
to adore God in those tabernacles where 'faith is vision
and hope possession,' and where the rcAvard of a Avell-
spent life is the happiness that knows neither limit nor
end."
At the solemn vespers, in the evening, a sennon
was preached by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Loughlin, Bishop
of Brooklyn.
The church, begun under such hap[)y auspices, lias
enjoyed great prosperity. Tlie faithful have contributed
liberally to all the methods adopted for reducing the in-
cumbrances on their noble temple, and delivering it abso-
lutely from debt.
The parochial school, admirably accommodated in the
building erected for the purpose, is directed by the Sis-
ters of Charity, and muubers some two hundred and
fifty boys and nearly six hundred girls.
The parish has an institution under its charge, the
158 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
admirable " House of the Holy Family for Befriending-
Cliildren and Young Girls," at 136 Second Avenue, which
shelters a hundi-ed inmates in its walls, and has ex-
ceeded even the most sanguine anticipations of the good
it was to accomplish.
On the feast of Corpus Clmsti, Jmie 20th, 1878,
the St. Ann's Literary Union was organized, in rooms
fitted up for their rise in Eleventh Street. The Union is
under the spiritual directorship of the Rev. James W.
Hayes. There is a Literary Society of Yoimg Ladies,
directed by Rev. Tliomas F. Lynch. There are also Soci-
eties of the Blessed Vu-gin, for both men and women.
^'/^r^^^ ^(2^^<^ . ^J,
SAINT ANN'S CHUECII. 159
VERY REV. THOMAS S. PRESTON,
VICAR GENERAL AND CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW YORK.
THE pastor of St. Ann's has discharged, besides the
parocliial duties among the flock confided to his
care, important and responsible trusts in the diocese, hold-
ing the position of Vicar General, and also of Chancellor.
Notwithstanding all this, he has made leisure for literary
work, and enriched our libraries with doctrinal and de-
votional works, as clear in exposition as they are replete
with piety and unction.
He was born at Hartford, Connecticut, in Jixly, 1824,
and was educated in his native city, having been grad-
uated in 1843 from Trinity College, which was the
Alma Mater also of the late Archbishop Bayley.
He was then a member of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and wshing to devote himself to the ministry,
he entered the General Theological Seminary of that
body, in New York City, and having passed tlu-ough
then- com-se of divinity, was ordained a minister in 1846.
The awakening of soimd study and sounder thought in
that body, both in England and this country, had, how-
ever, gone so far, that many who entered the ministry
began to feel that true peace and true faith could be
160 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
found alone in that cluircli from wliicli tlioir ancestors,
some few by choice, but most by compulsion, separated
in the sixteenth century.
Mr. Preston was one of these. The lig-ht dawning
on his mind was not . rejected ; prayer for guidance
brought gi-ace and strength, and he became a Catholic
in 1849. His vocation to the priesthood was deemed so
solid, his study of Catholic theology so extensive, that
after a short pei'iod in St. Josejih's Seminary, Fordham,
he was ordained in the Avinter of the following year,
November 16th, 1850, by the Rt. Rev. John McCloskey,
Bishop of Albany.
After being for a time assistant at St. Patrick's Cathe-
dral, he was appointed to the newly established Church
of tlie Immaculate Conce^ition at Yonkers. Here he did
much to give the parish a proper organization, drew in the
careless and negligent, won many to the faith, and sliowed
all tlie qualities of a good priest.
In October, 1853, Archbishop Hughes appointed him
his secretary, and he returned to the Cathedral. The Rev.
J. R. Bayley, in order to systematize the business of the
diocese, had labored to organize a Chancery office, and
Rev. Mr. Preston was selected, in 1855, to take charge
of this important department. Under his direction every-
thing has become as systematic and well ordered as the
affairs of a government or financial institution. In this
he has rendered signal service to the diocese, and diu-ing
SAINT ANN'S CUURCH.
ICA
his long incumbency has given such a precedent for all
departments connected with it, that there will be no
difficulty in maintaining the high standard attained.
In 18G1, as we have seen, he was appointed pastor
of St. Ami's Church, and continued to discharge his old
duties without interfering with the laborious calls of his
parish, although the purchase of ground and the erection
of a new church, with its schools, might well have been
deemed sufficient labor for one priest.
After discharging these combined duties for twelve
years, a new honor, with corresponding burdens, was con-
ferred upon him. The Archbishop of New York made the
Rev. ]Mr. Preston one of his Vicars General. As a mem-
ber of the Archbishop's Council, he had already been one
of the advisers of his Grace on the affairs of the diocese ;
his new jjosition required also at times an active part in
the administration.
lie is, as may be seen, one of the most hard work-
ing as he is one of the most amiable and beloved of
the priests in the diocese ; neither among the clergy nor
the faithful have any been found to complain of his ac-
tion in the various and often delicate matters before him.
As a preacher, he is polished, elofpient, and convinc-
ing, as his published sermons attest. Besides these he has
written, "The Ark of the Covenant," "Lectures on Chris-
tian Unity," "Reason and Revelation," "The Vicar of
Christ," "Christ and the Church."
11
1G2
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The Catholic Woiid says of the Very Rev. Mr. Pres-
ton : " He has merited well of the Church by his zeal-
ous and efficient devotion to the cause of the Pope and
the Holy See, and his continual efforts to instruct the
Catholic laity in sound doctrine in this most essential mat-
ter. The style is grave and serious, copious and flowing,
and warmed with a spirit of fervent love to the souls
of men. It is the style, not of a mere essayist, but of a
preacher."
i
SAINT ANN'S CHURCH. ifj;]
Roll of H
ONOR.
Ashman, Amaziah L.
Hatfield, S.
Maguire, Peter W.
Barrett, Jane, Mrs.
Hennessy, Dennis.
Mohan, Thomas.
Bedford, Gunning S.
Hogan, Michael.
Murray, Ann, Mrs.
Birmingham, Edward.
Hutchison, John.
Navarro, Jose F. de
Brennan, Edward.
Jewell, Frank H.
O'Brien, John.
Chatillon, Cath., Mrs.
Kerrigan, Charles.
O'Brien, William.
Coffin, George.
Keyes, Edward L.
O'Connor, Thomas J.
Coudert, Frederick R.
Kinnear, Margaret A.
O'Shaughnessy, John \V.
Delan<i, Catharine, Mrs
• Latasa, F., Mrs.
0'Shaughnessy,J. R. G.
Dehnonico, Lorenzo. '
Lawler, Michael.
Otis, Frank.
Dooley, James.
Le Brun, Napoleon.
Philbin, Stephen.
Dufify, Richard G.
Lynch, Teresa, Mrs.
Plunkett, Peter E.
Dunn, M. J.
Lyness, B.
Rafter, Edward.
Echeverria, Pio.
McClure, D.
Reidy, Ellen.
Farnham, Margaret G.
McGovern, Edward.
Reilly, Bryan.
Fay, Edward.
McGuire, Mary.
Reynolds, Mary, Mrs.
Ferrero, Edward.
McKeon, John H.
Rigney, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Gass, John E.
McKeon, M., Mrs.
Short, Michael.
Gaynor, John.
McKnight, Thomas.
Smith, James F.
Gibert, Frederick EdwM
. McMahon, Martin T.
Starr, F. J.
Goggin, Eugene.
McMahon, P.
Ward, Ann M., Mrs.
Griffin, James.
Maguire, Andrew.
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION.
BROADWAY, COKNEK OF WEST ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIRST STREET.
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION.
BROADWAY AND ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIRST STREET,
MANHATTANVILLE.
FOR many years St. Paul's Church at Harlem was the
only shrine of religion for the Catholics scattered
over the northern part of Manhattan Island, there being no
church above the line of Fiftieth Street, where the Church
of St. John the Evangelist remained as an outpost of the
advancing city. IVIany remember a French gentleman re-
siding in Manliattan\'ille, who, in the days of Bishop
Du Bois, used to be seen making his way on foot to the
Cathedral, with one of his children on his shoulder and
the other by his side.
Yet the Catholic body had increased, and many res-
idents of means had settled in and around Manhattan-
villc ; among others, Andrew Carrigan, Terence Donnelly,
and Daniel Devlin. These and many others urged the
erection of a church near the shores of the Hvidson, and
on the 28th of October, 1852, the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop confided to an energetic young })riest, the Rev.
Arthur J. Donnelly, the disti-ict north of One Hundi-edth
Street and west of Eiglitli A^'enue as his parish.
166 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The Brothers of the Cliristian Schools luul resolved
to establish a college in the northern part of the island,
and had selected this very district as most suitable for
their piu-pose. The Rev. Mr. Donnelly resolved to act
in conjunction with them, and, guided Ijy the advice of
the gentlemen already named, who, as large landliolders,
were conversant with the advantages and value of })rop-
erty, the Cliristian Brothers and the new pastor pur-
chased, at the rate of four hundi-ed dollars a lot, the
two gore blocks bounded Ijy One Hundred and Thirty-
first Street and One HuntU-ed and Thirty-thii'd Street,
Broadway and the Boulevard, then styled Eleventh Avenue
As the Christian Brothers gave Rev. Mr. Donnelly
the choice of such portion as he deemed necessary for
the proposed church, he selected six lots on the corner
of Broadway and One Hundred and Thirty-first Street.
A huge mass of rock, containing more than three hundi-ed
cubic feet, towered high above the sti'eet, which cost
months of toil and blasting to remove, in order to pre-
pare the site for the new church.
To collect his flock till the projected edifice was
erected, the Rev. Mr. Donnelly adapted for his purposes
an old two-stor}^ frame d\\'elling standing on the line of
the unopened Eleventh Avenue. It was only some tliirty
feet square, but by extending the sides by sheds, and
opening the building through to the roof, a temporary
chapel of moderate demensions was obtained.
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 1G7
Here, on Passion Sunday, 1853, the Holy Sacrifice was
offered for tlie first time in the parish.
The site of the new church was at last ready, the
foundation was begun, and everything was in readiness
for the religious ceremonial of laying the corner-stone.
To give greater solemnity to the occasion, Archbishop
Cajetan Bedini, the first envoy from the Holy See to this
country, kindly consented to officiate in the rites. A pro-
cession moved from the residence of the pastor to the
newly begun Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady.
On Sunday, November 27th, 1853, the venerable represen-
tative of his Holiness, in mitre and cojoe, with the crosier
of his holy office, moved solenndy on, svuTounded by a
guard of honor from St. Stephen's Church, and b}' the
clergy and faithful, whose zeal and devotion compensated,
in some degree, for the martyrdom he endured in this
republic from his infidel countrymen and their American
dupes. On reaching the platform erected for the cere-
mony, he blessed the water, and proceeded around the
walls of the new chm-ch, dedicating the future edifice for
the service of God. He then laid the corner-stone, hav-
ing deposited beneath it an inscribed parchment record
of the act, and other articles commemorative of the happy
occasion. An eloquent sermon was then delivered by the
Rev. Dr. Jeremiah W. Cummings.
"There is a contrast," said he, "between the simple
evidence of the work, which, up to the present, stands before
168 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
your eyes, and the magnificence of the rites with which
it is blessed ; l>ut it is generally observed that the great-
est results are obtained from the smallest beginnings ; the
greatest powers are not those whose first manifestations
are the most striking. The noise of jjowder exploding,
which is often heard in this neighborhood while the rocks
are being removed — which divide one arm of the old
Hudson from the other — this noise startles the whole
neighborhood and attracts the notice of all ; yet how great
was the power that patiently, so to speak, gradually,
time after time, and part after part, piled up that mass
of rock which is before you, on the other side of the
church ! And yet it was not attended with any noise —
with any outward manifestation of its progress. You read
its power in the immense results which have been brought
about by it. So it will be — so let us all pray it may
be — with this Chui-ch of Manhattanville, which now has
progressed only a little, but which, let us hoj^e, will
arise and tower up in time, so that the attention of the
passer-by may be attracted to it from a distance, and
his admiration be excited and aroused as he nears the
sacred building, and as he goes on his way, leaving it
behind him. ... It is consoling for you to know
that in the eye of God, and in the eye of the Chm-ch,
your work is looked upon with the same respect, the
same admu'ation, the same veneration, as all the greater
works of your brethren in the faith, of whose under-
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 169
tixkinii's ill other lauds \t>u are daih' iiifornied. Yet even
the representative of the Hoi}' Fatlier, who has so often
gazed Ujjon tlie h)ft}' walls of St. Peter's, knows there
is no difference between the simple altar which will be
here in this place and the magnificent structure in Rome
at which mass is celebrated. He has seen tlie Father
of the Faithful engaged in offering up the Sacrifice of
Atonement; and he, also, in different times, has cele-
brated the Holy Sacrifice within the sacred Avails of that
holy building. And yet the interest he feels in his heart
in seeing what you are engaged in, is the saiue as what
he feels there, so far as faith is concerned. Do not
believe that in making these remarks I mean to say
the work in which you are engaged is not a noble
one, for I am informed that it will be larger than the
usual size of Catholic churches in tlie City of New York ;
and I am sure it will not only be an honor to you
but to the whole island. But the works of man, what-
ever they may be, are acceptable to Almighty God
only Avhen offered in a proper spirit. . . . Tliere
are men probably present who remember to have gone
on a journey to Rev. Mr. Power of St. Peter's Church,
when Christian consolation Avas wanted in such a place
as Manhattanville. And since that time Iioav much has
been done in the increase of the city ! How inucli has
been done for the increase of the number of those
belonging to our religion, and of the churches in which
170 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OP NEW YORK.
we may worship ! But while we are siuToiinded by
temporal blessings, which go on increasing, we must
not forffet the benefits which have been showered on us
by Him who is the Giver of all good gifts.
Show j-OTU- gratitude to God by offering at His slnine
a portion of your goods from time to time. Stand by
your pastor, and do not desert him. Do not let your
zeal cool until the building which you have begun has
been completed — until your fi'iends and yoiu-selves will
be gathered here again, not to witness the laying of a
corner-stone, but to witness its dedication to the worship
of Almighty God."
At the close of the address the Niuicio gave his
benediction, and the vast assemblage departed.
Standing- among: the crowd who witnessed the cere-
mony, with his head uncovered from its commencement
to its close, notwithstanding the Ideak wind of November
that was blowing, Avas the venerable form of Thomas
O'Conor, one of the earliest pioneers of the Catholic
press in America — an author of nci slight repute among
us — whose recollection carried him back to the time when
the old St. Peter's Church was the onl)- shrine of Cath-
olicity on the whole of Manhattan Island.
His illustrious son Charles O'Conor is a striking
figure not in the city only, but in the country ; but his
venerable father long held in the affections of the Cath-
olics of New York a place that ought not to be forgotten.
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 171
The cluii-ch was to be aiKitlK-r tribute of tlie love
of the people to the Blessed Virgin. Besides tlie church
dedicated to her as St. Mary, there is a church to honor
the special privilege by which she Avas preserved from
the taint of original sin in her immaculate conception ;
and this church was to honor the mystery of the In-
carnation, when the archangel Gabriel announced to her
that she was to be the mother of the Messias, whom
the patriarchs had longed to see and behold. It was to
be like a perpetual Angelus announcing that "the Word
Avas made flesh."
By the exertions and sacrifices of the pastor, the
church was at last completed in the winter of 1854 — a
beautiful structure in its picturesque position on the hill-
side fronting- the Blooming'dale Road, now Broadway-. It
was solemnly dedicated, in the winter of 1854, by the
Very Rev. William St;irrs, Vicar General of the Diocese,
the Archbishop being then absent iu Europe. The sermon
on the occasion was delivered by the Rev. J. Murray
Forbes, who, taking as his text, " Behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed," showed how reason-
able and how consoling to the Christian heart was the
devotion paid by the Church to the Blessed Virgin.
The cluu'ch is fifty-seven feet in width by ninety in
depth, of the ancient Gothic style, solidly built of l)rick
trinnned and pointed witli stone fiicings. ^^'h('ll completed,
it cost abont S25,0()() ; and all this was paid except about
172 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
$10,000. It had some liberal benefactors. The chancel
windows Avere the gift of Charles M. Connolly, Esq.
When the Churt'h of the Annunciation was erected, the
grades of the streets had not been definitively settled,
and in opening- the Boulevard so much was cut away
that the sacred edifice now stands on an eminence tower-
ing hiffh in air. Its architecture, idain and almost stern,
inspires a kind of awe ; but as you enter, the mellow light
tlu-ough the stained glass at the sides and in the chan-
cel, through pictured evangelists, gives a holy calm. In
the lancet-shaped apsis stands the beautiful altar, with a
painting of the Annunciation and another of the Immacu-
late Conception. Within the rail, just at the edge of the
recess, are altars of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph ;
and to the riglit, at the extremity of the aisle, is a Chapel
of the Sacred Heart, exquisite in taste.
Among the prominent pew-holders were Dr. Levi
Silliman Ives, who laid down at the feet of the successor
of St. Peter the insignia of his position as Bishop of
North Carolina in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and
his wife, a daughter of Bishop Hobart, once bishop of the
same church in Ne\\' York, who wavered under the argu-
ments of Bishop Connolly, but never embraced the faith.
The Christian Brothers carried out their plan, and
on the ground retained by them erected Manhattan Col-
lege, one of the most thriving and good-doing of our
Catholic literary institutions.
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 173
The Rev. Mr. Donnelly was succeeded in the charge
of the churcli by the Rev. F. H. Fan'elly, now pastor
of St. James', who for four years labored efficientl}- in
this parish. It was under the pastoral care of the Rev.
Jolin Breen for thirteen years, until his death, February
18, 1873.
This zealous pastor, who, dying at the age of fifty,
was one of the oldest laborers in the ^'ineyard of New
York diocese, was a native of Ireland, trained for the
service of God's altar in the solid and thorough course
of Maynooth; coming to this country to labor among
the wonderfully increasing fold of Catholics, who seemed
to arise as if by enchantment in all j)arts of the vast
American continent.
His first mission duties were discharged in the Diocese
of Chicago ; then he was identified with the Church of
the Annunciation, laboring earnestly in a parish extend-
ing from Fifty-ninth Street to Spuyten Duyvil. In the
cause of education he was deeply intei'ested, and not
only established schools for his own parish, but was for
eight or nine years one of the jirofessors in Manhattan
College.
On his decease the Most Reverend Archbishop placed
the faithful of Annunciation parish under the j^astoral
care of the Rev. Jeremiah J. Griffin.
The church has excellent facilities for its parochial
schools ; it is in the innnediate vicinity of the Convent
174 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of tlie Ladies of the Sacred Heart, and ]\Ianhattan C!ol-
leg-e. Some of the Brothers uf the Cliristian Schools
from the latter institution direct the boys' school of An-
nimciation parish, numbering three hundred and twent}^,
while three hundred and seventy girls attend a scliool
where they are taught 1)}' Ladies of the Sacred Heart.
The jn'eat advantages thus afforded to all classes in this
parisli for the Clnistian and Catholic education of their
children are incalculable. The poorest can give their
young a thorougli religions training in the parocliial
schools of tlie church. To those who can and will enrich
the minds of their offspring Avitli the liighest literary cul-
ture, IVIanhattan College, and tlie Academy of the Ladies
of tlie Sacred Heart, within their very parish, offer ad-
vanta<res of the lii"-hest order.
The parish of the Annunciation can scarcely foil to
show, as years go on, the resiilt of all these advan-
tages now enjoyed. It shows its religious life in its Altar
Society, Society of the Holy Rosary, Confraternity of the
Sacred Heart, its Sodality of the Childi'en of Mary, and
Young ]\Ien's Sodality, as \xe\\ as in its benevolent organ-
izations — the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and the
Sewing Society for the Ilulief of the Poor.
The Sunday-school is mcII organized, numbering tliree
hundi'ed pupils, with a library of five hundred ■\vell-selected
volumes.
v^^,^;;^ - n vJSSisSvN.'s^^Sls.v-.^ ' >>>^^ N
■ei'e'!4^'i'fi--/i'
i-'Mye^)^'^^
CHURCH (JF TUE ANNUNCIATION. I75
REV. JEREMIAH J. GRIFFIN,
PASTOU OF THE CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION.
THE present pastor of the Church of the Annun-
ciation was born in Newcastle, County Limerick,
Irehxnd, in March, 1830, and came with liis family to
this country when only in his tenth year. After some
years' preliminary study he was sent to JMount St. j\Iary's
College, at Emmettsburg, Maryland, in 1856 ; and having
resolved to devote his life to God's service, was soon
enrolled among: the seminarians in that school of the
clergy.
At the conclusion of his theological course he was
ordained by Archbishop McCloskey, at St. Patrick's Cathe-
di'al, on the 30th of September, 1865,
He has since been constantly engaged in laborious
parochial duty. The young priest's first position was
that of assistant at the Church of the Nativity, and
after fulfilling his duties acce])tably there for tliree years,
he was removed to the more onerous duties of assistant
at St. Stejjhen's Church, where he remained for three
years more.
The ability displayed by him in these jjositions in
the city mission led to his apponitment, in 1872, to the
176
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Chiirch of the Assumption, at Peekskill. Here he dis-
played the same zeal and devotion to his sacred calling,
and when the j)astorship of the Church of the Annun-
ciation, at Manhattanville, became vacant by the death
of the reverend gentleman who liad for many years
guided the flock, the Archbishop promoted the Rev. Mr.
Griffin to this church, in April, 1873. Here his zeal has
been unremitting, and his Eminence the Cardinal, on
his visitation for confirmation, paid a merited tribute to
the pastor and the church. His assistant is the Rev. J
M. Grady.
CHURCH OF SAINT ANTHONY.
12 SULLIVAN STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA.
SULLIVAN STREET.
THERE can be little doubt but that the Catholic
luivlgatoi' Gomez, at the close of the tirst quarter
of the sixteenth century, entered our harbor on the feast
of the great Franciscan, St. Anthony of Padua ; and,
himself a Portuguese, felt especial devotion to that glory
of his native land. We draw this conclusion from the
fact that other coast names are those of summer feasts,
and in the name of St. Anthony applied to our noble
Hudson, we see the first dedication to that great saint.
No church, however, Ijore his name until the year
1859, when a zealous Italian priest was touched by the
condition of his poor countrymen in New York. Many
of these, having none to address them in their native tongue,
had fallen into utter neglect of their i-eligious duties,
while the revolutionary element, full of hatred of religion
and the priesthood, did all in their ^^ower to weaken the
pious impressions of early training ; and the devom-ing
wolves of religious jjroselytism, who cared little for the
temporal or eternal future of their victims, so that they
hu'ed them from Rome, strained every nerve and lavished
money to seduce the poor Italians from their faith.
CIUKCII OF .ST. ANTIIUNV (»b' J'ADUA. 179
Rev. Mr. Saiig-uinetti obtained a lease of tlie cliiiicli
buildiiiy ill Canal 8treet, wliicli had Kccu used by the
congregatiou of St. Vincent de Paul, and with the sanc-
tion and eiicourayeinent of tlut Most RevcMviid Archbishop
began to collect his scattered countrvnieii and endeavored
to revive l)iety and devotion among them. His labors
were far from fruitless; but dilficulties arose, and the spirit
of evil was not .so easily dri\en from a field tliat he
claimed. The good priest, after struggling for more than
a year, lost heart, and, tlioi-oughl\- discouraged, abandoned
the mission wdiich he had undertaken.
But the Churcli of St. Anthony of I'adua was not
to be merel}- a name, 'Hie wants of tlic Italians had
become evident, and maiiv among them were not dis-
posed to let the 2'i"".i''<'f t'-iil. The Most Reverend Arch-
bi.sliop mentioned his diflicult\ to the Very Rev. Pamfilo
da Magliaiio, tlien Pro\ incial of the Franciscans at Alle-
o'lienv. Nothinti' could hv, more consoliiii>- to that excel-
lent religious man, and he gladh- undertook to establisli
a church for his countrvmen. Tlie Re\. Leo Pacilio, an
acconipli.shed Neapolitan jiriest, was sent to commence the
good work.
Selecting- a portion of the cit\- wher(_' no ('atliolic
church existed, lie looked f(H' a suitable l)uildin;^'. Pru-
dence suggested ec<niom\', and tindiiiL;- in Sullixan Street
a Methodist church ou leasehold propertx' that could Ik;
acquired on reasonable terms, he secured it, ami soon
180 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
fitted it lip for tlie use of the Italian congregation whom
he gathei-ed.
The church was solemnly dedicated on the 10th day
of April, 1866, by the Most Reverend Archbishop, now
Cardinal McCloskey, assisted by the Very Rev. William
Starrs, V.G. ; and the Rev. Francis McNeirny, secretary.
After the usual ceremonies setting apart this building
for the service of the Church, the altar was adorned, and
a Solemn High Mass celebrated by the Very Rev. Pam-
filo da Magliano, Father Leo da Saracena as deacon, and
Father Andi-ew Pfeiffer as subdeacon. The Most Reverend
Archbishop preached the dedicatory sermon ; and after the
Post Communion, the pastor, Rev. Leo Pacilio, returned
thanks to the Archbishop in Italian, expressing the grati-
tiide of his flock. In the evening, at vespers, the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Lynch of Charleston gave benediction, and
an Italian sermon was delivered by the learned Dr. De
Concilio of Jersey City.
The Fathers at first took up their abode in part of
'the building, which they found arranged so as to be
adapted to the purpose, and zealously began their labors.
When the success of St. Anthony's was no longer in
doubt, a more convenient residence was obtained. The
Italians soon found then way from all parts to the
new church, and benefited by the ministrations of the
Franciscans.
Father Leo was succeeded by F. Joachim Guerrini.
CnUECH OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA. 181
The convent was then for some years the residence of
the Provincial of the Order in this country. The Very
Rev. James Titta, who was attached to the chvu-ch from
1871, remained when made Provincial, and after the con-
clusion of his term. He was a native of Gombitelli, and
after his ordination in 1854 belonged to the choir of the
Lateran Basilica. He died Guardian of the Convent and
pastor of St. Anthony's, March 11, 1877, highly esteemed
by the flock which he had directed, now embracing not
only Italians but many English-speaking Catholics, who
have learned to appreciate the sons of St. Francis of
Assisi.
The present Guardian of the Convent and pastor of
the churcli is the Rev. Father Anacletus, O.S.F.
Such is, in brief, tlie history of the church dedicated
to the great Franciscan saint, in whose lionor Father
Louis Hennepin, two centuries ago, named the cataract
on' the Upper Mississippi, still known as the Falls of St.
Anthony ; .and in whose honor the Spanish Franciscans
soon after named a mission in Texas, which has now
become an episcopal see.
He is called of Padua, because that city was the
chief scene of his labors ; but he was a native of Lis-
bon, the capital of Portugal. He was born in 1195,
and christened Ferdinand. He fii'st entered a conmivinity
of Canons Regular, but was attracted to the Franciscans
by their zeal, poverty, and heroism in the foreign mis-
182 CATHOLIC CHUKCHE>S OF NEW YORK.
sious. Kiiteriiiji- Miuoiiy them, he took the luuiie of An-
thony, and was sent to Africa; l)nt forced by ill health
to leaAC, the vessel in which he embarked was driven to
Sicily. In Italy he had the ha])piness of seein<>- St.
Francis jiimself, bnt, concealing all his gUia and learning-,
took the huiuldest duties in the house, until one day his
superior ordered liim to address the conmnmity and some
Dominicans wlio were stopping with them. His eloquence,
learning and unction amazed all ])resent. St. Francis,
learning his aliilitA' and piety, sent him to Vercelli to
complete his stmlies and then to teach theology, which
he did tor man\- vears in various cities, liut he long'ed
to beconu? a missionarv j)reacher. AVhen he was per-
mitted to begin, he concerted the most obstinate heretics
and the most hardened sinners, and preached in France,
Spain and Italy with wonderful .sviccess, God approving
his work by miracles, and giving him in the confes-
sional supernatural wisdom and ])rudence. His words
brought the tvrant F/Czelin<) in tears a ))enitent at his
feet. He died .Tune l.'Uli, \'2:'A, at the earlv age of
thirty-six. The miracles wroiight in his life and after
death were so extraordinar>' that he was almost immedi-
atelv canonized, and was honored thnmghout all parts
of Europe long Ijefore the discoverv of America. The
Franciscan missionaries, pioneers of the faith in the Xew
World, l)ore the devotion with them from the snows of
Canada to the banks of the T^a Plata.
CIIUIU'II OF ST. ANTHONY OF I'ADUA. 183
Tilt' Fathers at our New York churcli iK'<;-lect no
means to ditiuse piet\' anion;;- their flock. 'Vlw Society
of St. Vincent de Paul, so zeahins in reheving- tlie poor,
is well established; and there is also the Italian benev-
olent Soeiet}' <»f St. Anthony. Thev have orpmizcd
rosary and temperance societies for liotli Knglisli and
Italian-speaking Catholics, witli the Children of ^[arv,
and a Sodality of tlu^ H'^b' Angels, and a Society of
the Sacred Heart.
The Franciscans have a Third < )rder, for persons of
both sexes living in the world, but following to some
extent the rule of St. Francis. There are Tertiaries con-
nected with this church, and also the Confraternity of
the Cord of St. Francis.
Education has received special care. The late Father
James Titta Itought a suitable biiilding and established
a parish school, in which English and Italian are taught ;
the bovs bv lay teachers, the girls Ijy the ]\[issionary
Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.
The field open for the labors of the Fathers of the
Chm'ch of St. Anthony is one that day by day increases.
Under the old rule in Italy, living was low; and in no
part of the world perhaps was there a more contented
population.
The dream of Italian unity has been realized, and
it has resulted in a profligate and expensive court, a
civil administration reckless of expense, a standing arun-
184
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
that takes nearly a nilllion of men, in the pnme of hfe,
from the pursuits of industry, and compels the rest of
the community to support them.
The seizm'e of church property and its sale did little
to fill the exchequer, drained Tjy the new outlays. Taxes
were multiplied, and many small cultivators were forced
to abandon the lands held hy their ancestors for cen-
turies. New Italy drove her childi'en hy the thousands
from her shores, to seek a livelihood in other lands. The
emigration to America took a rapid development, and
with the Avorthy and industrious came, of course, many
whose evil courses made tliem gladly seek a change.
The City of New York, the natural centre of immigration,
has received Italians by thousands, so that they are now
found in all branches of ti'ade and labor, the luiskilled
taking in many cases the work on railroads and other
improvements, which was formerly almost exclusively per-
formed by ihe stalwart men from Ireland.
These emigrants, in a new and strange country, ^ith
none of the influence of their parish priest or religious —
their quiet riural homes exchanged for city tenements —
were exposed to a loss of faith.
It will thus be seen that the Chm-ch of St. Anthony
of Padua, being the only one in the city devoted exclu-
sively to the care of the spiritual interests of the Italian
residents, has an immense work.
(^ri./. K^
CHUKCH OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA. 18.5
REV. FATHER ANACLETUS da ROCCAGORGA, O.S.F.,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA.
THE present Guardian of the Convent and pastor
of the Chiu-ch of St. Anthony of Padua, the Rev.
Father Anacletus, is a niemlier oi the Reformed Francis-
cans or Recollects, who commenced their labors in this
State in the year 1855, and for several years jiast have
conducted a flourishing- college at Allegany, and missions
in various parts of the country. They thus revived the
holy memories of the Franciscan missionaries of the French
and Spanish colonial period, when the}' were the first
missionaries in Canada, New Mexico, Texas, and Upper
California, and reddened Florida with the blood of their
martyrs.
Father Anacletus was born on the 2d of June, 1836,
at Roccagorga, a town in the Pontifical States, and ^\-as
baptized Uvo days after, by tlie name of Anthony j\Iar}',
his family name being De Angelis.
His early piety led him to serve frequently as a
boy at the altar, and at the age of eighteen he renounced
the world to enter the Franciscan Order sit Rome. There
he read pliilosophy for tlu-ee years, and came to tliis
country December ?>d, 1865, to join the American Pro-
isn
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOUK.
viuce ot liis order, lie litis lalxircd ze;i,l(msl\- in \arious
missions, doing- witliout ostentation the ])riestlv dntics in tlie
convents and chnrclies under the care of liis connnnnitv.
His merit was soon recognized hy liis supeiiors and
liis brethren, and he was placed in positions of n^sponsi-
bility, requiring- not only zeal and })ietv, hut tliat a(hinn-
istrative ability which is not g-iven to all.
He was ma(h' Cluardian of the Convent and ('(dleo-e
at Allegany, New York, the principal liouse of the Friars
Minors of the Reform in America. He then was ap-
pointed to the same position in the convent of his order
at Winsted, Connecticut ; and subsequently was made
Guardian of the Convent and pastor of St. I'atrick's
Cluirch in the City of liuffalo.
He has, it will be seen, lieen in several dioceses, and
has in all Avon the esteem of the Right Reverend Bishops.
He has been for some years connected with the
Church of St. Anthony in this city, and, on the death
of the lamented Father Titta, A\as made Guardian of the
Convent and pastor of the clmrcli.
His experience in the monastery, his knowledge of
the wants of his countrymen in America, with his zeal
and ability, give the hope that his ministr}^ in New York
City will be a fruitful one.
His associates in 1878 are Father Leonard P. Mc-
Kernan, O.S.F., Father Camillus da lifotefegatese, O.S.F.,
and Father Julius da Arpino, O.S.F.
CHIIUOH OF «'!'. ANTHONY OF I'ADUA.
ISl
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR
Berk, Aflolpli.
Hogan, I'liomas.
Rrosnan, Daniel M.
Brown, Tliomas, Mrs.
Carvey, Patrick.
Cavanagh, James F.
Cloke, James.
Cody, Tobias.
Connors, Michael.
Conway, Annie, Mrs.
Crowley, Dennis.
Daly, Jane, Mrs.
Daly, John B.
Devaney, Patrick.
Donlin, P. E.
Downey, John, Mrs.
Duffy, Bernard,
Dwyer, Timothy.
Eagaii, Michael.
Eagleton, Thomas.
Egan, Maria.
Eustace, Richard.
Ferguson, Dennis G.
Finn, Patrick J.
Fitzimmons, Felix.
Flynn, Catharine.
Frost, John.
Gallagher, John.
Garry, Michael J.
Garvey, Michael.
Gillooly, Patrick H.
C.leason. Patrick.
Hassett, Thomas H.
Haight, William A.
Healey, Edward.
Heffernan, James.
Hickey, Patrick.
Higgins, Patrick.
Holland, Philip.
Hughes, Henry.
Hurley, Edward,
Kane, William James.
Kelly, Dudley. .
Kelly. Edward.
Kelly, James J.
Kennelly, Patrick.
Lawless, William.
Lynch, Maggie.
Lynch, Patrick.
McCormick, Richard.
McCullough, Daniel.
McDermott, John.
McDonnell, Charles.
McEntee, James.
McGinn, John.
McGrath, John.
McKenna, Bernard.
McKernan, M. F., Mrs.
McNabb, Catharine, Mrs.
Madigan, Michael.
Manning, James j .
Meagher, John.
Meagher, Joseph.
Monahan. Michael.
Morton, Caroline, Mrs.
Nash, P. H. .
Nicholson, Mary, Mrs.
Nolan, Catharine. Mrs.
Nugent, H.
O'Brien, James.
O'Connor, John.
O'Connor, Samuel.
O'Connor, Thomas.
O'Day, John.
O'Ro'rke, B.
Rathe, Julia, Mrs.
Reilly, Hugh,
Reilly, PhiHp.
Rogers, Josejih.
Rouse, Katie.
Ryan, John H.
Sanders, John.
.Scannell, John.
Selveira, Jos. W. M., Mrs.
Sharkey, ^Lartin.
Shorten, Patrick.
Sinnott, Matthew.
Smith, Margaret, Miss.
Smith, Patrick.
Tobin, John J.
Walsh, Jolm.
Walsh, John. Mrs.
Walsh, Michael.
^\'ard, James J.
Ward, John.
White. John.
on u HO II or the assumption.
WEST FORTY-NINTH STREET.
CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
FORTY-NINTH STREET.
TOWARDS the year 1858, the increase of the Ger-
man Catholic popuhition on tlie western side of
the city seemed to require greater accommodations than
were afforded by the chm-ches of St. Jolm the Baptist
and St. Francis Seraph. The Rev. A. Krasny, AAath
the encouragement and by the appointment of his Grace
Archbishop McCloskey, took steps to organize a new
congregation. He found the faithful ready to co-operate
with him. A lease was obtained of a lot on the south-
east corner of Ninth Avenue and Fiftieth Street, and on
this a plain but substantial frame building was erected,
and dedicated by the Very Rev. William StaiTs, Vicar
General, in April, 1858, as the temporary Chm-ch of the
Assumption. He preached on the occasion in English,
and a sermon in the language of the congregation was
delivered at the mass.
Soon after, three lots were purchased in Forty-ninth
Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, for the pur-
pose of erecting a more substantial chm-ch, to accommo-
date the constantly increasing flock. The corner-stone
lf)0 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
ot" tlie new Church of the* Assuniptiuu was laid by the
Jlost Rev. Archbishop McCloskey, on Sunday, the first
day of Mav, 1859. Societies connected with the Church
of the Most Holy Redeemer, St. P^ancis Seraph, St.
Francis Xavier, St. John's, and the Society of St. Vin-
cent dc I'jud, marched to the spot. The Archbishop,
attended bv the Rev. Francis McNeirny, the Very Rev.
W. Brouillet, V.G., and a number of other clerg-ynien,
performed the ceremony as laid down in the ritual ;
and after blessing;- the corner-stone, returned to the deco-
rated platform, where he delivered one of those hapj»y
and touchino- addresses wliidi sink into the heart. Tak-
ing as his text the words of the I'salni, "Unless the
Lord build the house, they labor in vain Avho buihl
it," he said : " These words are taken from the ser^'i(■e
used in blessing the corner-stone of a C'atholic church,
because it is the corner-stone, and l)ecause the Avords
of the roval prophet, ' Unless the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain who Ituild it,' are the corner-stone
of all true religion. There are two foundations, then,
one of which is a material stone, and the other a cor-
ner-stone of faith in Christ. To this last I call your
attention ; for e\ery j^raAer and chant and ceremony
connected with blessing the cc>rner-stone of the cluu'ch
which is to rise on this ground, is connected with that
hio-her Church and Tabernacle to which we ai-e all in-
vited. The prayers are for the perpetuity of the faith,
CHURCH OF THK ASSUMPTION. 191
tlui c'lijinty and love, and iW ])unty of licart of those
wlio shall enter this building' and receixe tlie sacraments
at th(! altar, which is to be where I now stand. The
[Mirposc for ■which the church is to l)e erected is to
echo and re-eclio, from age to age, that blessed truth
which the Son of God connnunicated to the world, and
declared should remain for all time. The clnn-ch is
erected for the administration of the sacraments. The
idea of a Catholic church is not for learned men to
mount a rostrum and declare their own ideas to the
|)eoi)h^ No! they were to speak the truth, and not
give opinions; for Jesus Clirist never gave opinions."
He congratulated the Gennan Catholics on their zeal,
and urged them to persevere to the completion of their
projected church. Tlic Imilding of the new churcli Mient
on rapidh", and a tine brick edifice, with a lofty steeple,
the caps and trimmings of durable brown stone, attested
to all ^vllo visited that part of the city, the zeal and
taste of the cong-regation.
When this new church was dedicated and opent^l for
service, the temjiorary Churcli on Ninth Avenue was sold.
The church was for many years under the pastoral care
of the Rev, Benedict Stroehle, who was succeeded in the
year 187() b\- the Kc\-. A. Schwcmiiger.
From an earlx' ]M'i-io(l in the annals of this church
we iiuil care o-iven to the Cbristiau education of the Youuf;-.
To^vards the close of Rev. Mr. Stroehle's pastoral relations,
192 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
several lots were purchased on Fiftietli Street, in the rear
of the chui-ch, and a very fine brick school-house erected
at a cost of about twenty-five thousand dollars. The
schools are attended by about four hundi-ed and fifty
jjupils of both sexes, who are instructed in all the com-
mon school branches by eleven School Sisters of Notre
Dame and some lay teachers.
The congregation numbers about five thousand souls.
and the annual baptisms about tlu-ee hundi'ed.
Roll of Honor.
CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION.
Ackefman, Carl. Foerscli, Caspar. Kessler, -A.dolph. Ohverter, George.
Ackerman, John. Foerscli, Joseph. Kinake, J. Y. Orlh, George.
Albert, I'eter. Friedrick, Carl. Kirchof, John. Ostermann, Mrs.
Amberg, John. Frish, John. Kirchhoefer, George. Panzer, Joseph.
Balk, ApoUonia. Froehrenbach, Peter. Koch, Kdward. Pfeiffer, John G.
Baumaun, Edward. Frost, Matthew. Koester, Hermann. Reichwein, Joseph.
Bauniel, John. Fuchs, Attila. I'^rug, Christina. Reit\\'iesner, John.
Bechner, Joseph. Gebhardt, Anna. Knorr, Morris. Renz, Frank.
Berneziser, Mrs. Gerde^, Clemens. Lambert, Margaret. Roose, D. A.
Beyer, John. Graf, Theodore. Lang, Dorothea. Roesncr, John.
Biegen, Frank. Grau, John. Latour, Peter. Rottper, Joseph.
BoUe, Frank. Gross, Anton. Lauterbacher, Alois. Rudloff, Jacob.
Brehm, Anna. Gross, John. Loehr, Barbara. Ruprecht, Thomas.
Breitenbach, A. Grundner, John. Loehr, John. Saum, LdA\'ard.
lirex, Jolin. Habermann, Michael. Maling, Philip. Schaefer, Sebastian,
Brunner, Peter. Hachenfurth, Mrs. Mansing, Henry. Scheidler, Joseph.
Bueffel, Jacob. Haeckel, Conrad. Mark, George. Schindler, Michael.
Burger, Joseph. Haeckel, Michael. Martin, Bernhard. Schmoeller, Louis.
Burkardt, Nicholas. Hartmann, CJeorge. Marschall, Frank. Schneider, Matthew.
Dettinger, Andrew. Heil, George. Mehl, Conrad. Schramm, Stephen.
Diebold, George. Heimbuch, W. Mrs. Melilig, Frank. Schwarz, Adam.
Diepenbach, A. Heiss, Dorothea. Mehlig, Henry. Senger, Martin.
Dinselb.acher, A. Hilbert, Anton. Meurer, George. Seuferling, A.
Duerr, Kunigunda. Hoev, Joseph. Messing, John. Simon, Josephine.
Duenglemann, Berish. Jordan, Frank. Meyer, Conrad. Stehle, Mrs.
Dux, August. Jordan, Frank, Jr. Meyer, George. Stelz, John.
Englert, August. Jordan, Joseph. Mink, Joseph. Trageser, Michael.
Ewald, Andrew. Jordan, Philip. Muehlberaer, Adam, Waas, George.
Falk, Jacob. "Kappler, Christian. Nicholas, John. ^\'eber, Balthazar.
Fleckenstein, George. Kemner, Joseph. Noll, Peter. Zucker, IVLargarct.
CIILTvCH OF THE ASSUMI'TION. 193
REV. BERNARD ANTHONY SCHWENNIGER,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OP THE ASSUMPTION'.
THE Rev. Bernard A. Scliwenniger was born at
Selm, in Prussia, on the 23d of Sej^tember, 1832,
an<l after a thorough com-se of study, both hterary and
ecclesiastical, was ordained priest June 9, 1857. He came
to the United States in January, 1866, and having been
received by the ]\Iost Reverend Archbishop Purcell in
the Diocese of Cincinnati, was appointed assistant to
the Very Rev. Josepli Ferneding at the Church of St.
Paul, in Cincinnati, and in 1870 was appointed to the
new Church of St. Louis, on Eighth and Walnut Streets
in that city. Here he remained as j^astor till 1875, Avhen
he removed to the Diocese of New York, and was placed
in the following year, by his Eminence Cardinal Mc-
Closkey, in charge of the Chiu'ch of the Assumption.
The Rev. Mr. Schwenniger has aroused an earnest
interest among his congregation, and placed the affairs of
the parish on a most creditable footing. The schools
tlu-ive under his fostering care, and the congregation seem
to act in the utmost harmony with their pastor.
13
CHURCH OF SAINT AUGUSTINE.
ONE IIUNDEED AND SEVENTIETH STREET, MOERISANIA.
CHURCH OF SAINT AUGUSTIiNE.
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTIETH STREET, NEAR FRANKLIN AVENUE,
MOKEISANIA.
A
FEW years since a portion of Westchester County
was detached from it and united to the City
of New York. This causes us to include among the city
churches some which were formerly regarded as country
parishes. Among these is the parish of St. Augustine,
Morrisania.
The Catholics in that part of Westchester County
were attended from St. Paul's Church at Harlem, but in
1855 the Rev. Stephen Ward was sent to establish a
mission and erect a church, to afford the faithful greater
advantages for the practice of their religious duties and
the education of their childi'en. There were man}' diffi-
culties, but in 1858 he secm-ed ground for a site, and
prepared to erect a chmxh after the designs of Mr. H.
Engelbert, a skillful architect. It was to be of brick,
with brown stone facings, and to be fifty-one feet by one
hundred feet in length.
The l\Iost Reverend Archbishop Hughes laid the
cornei'-stone on Sunday, the 12th of September, 1858,
assisted by the Very Rev, William Starrs, V.G., Rev.
196
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Messrs. Brophy, Neligan, Brennan, Morrogli, and Fathers
Schneider and Daubresse of the Society of Jesus; Rev. Mr.
McNeirny acted as master of ceremonies. After the con-
clusion of the 231'escribed ritual, the Archbishop addressed
the large audience joyfully gathered to witness the auspi-
cious commencement. His text was from the first Epistle
of St. Paul to Timothy, iv. 1: "Now the Spirit manifestly
saith that in the last times some shall depart from the
faith, gi^'ing heed to spirits of error and doctrines of
devils." He said that they had all come there to witness
a ceremony — a religious ceremony — which would a])pear
to many a new one. " It will be reported in the papers
merely as a material ceremony, and the Avorld cannot
comprehend the use of svich a one ; biit we have the text
of Scripture for it — the authority of the Holy Catholic
Church. We all know that the first man and woman
transgressed, and that the material world was cursed in
consequence ; that the Son of God was sent to redeem
the world, and that the Church has power to redeem
some portion of this earth from this curse. The Church
with her prayers has a])pointed this portion of ground
to the worship of God. The sanctity of the prayers has
taken the original malediction from this g-round."
Before he closed the Archbishop said that he wished
to revive an old custom. He did not wish any collec-
tion made among the j^eople present, but ^^'ished to see
them come up in order and lay their off"erings on the
CHUECH OF ST. AUGUSTINE. I97
corner-stone itself. He valued the custom much. The
faithful, with the vitmost order, responded, and as each
passed the stone, he made it in some sense his o^^^l by
his contribution.
The church of Morrisania was thus begun under the
invocation of the great St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo,
the Doctor of the Church Avhose burning love for God
is always symbolized in art by a flaming heart. The
oldest city in the United States has, for more than
three centm-ies, borne the name of this great Father.
Philadelphia had long possessed a church dedicated to
his honor — a martyr church, burned for the faith preached
within it. It was fitting that New York too should
honor him.
St. Augustine, Aurelius Augustinus, the son of Patrick
and Monica, was born at Tagaste in 354. He was care-
fully educated, but lost his innocence, and was seduced
by the Manichean heretics. In vain his pious mother
used tears and prayers. Her son seemed obdurate ; Heaven
.seemed to deprive him of the graces he had forfeited.
While a brilliant professor of rhetoric, the moment of
mercy came. He was moved l)y the preaching of St.
Ambrose, was sincerely converted ; and, having received
baptism in 387, he devoted himself to austerity and
prayer. Having gone to Hippo, the Bishop Valerius
ordamed him priest. He so distinguished himself in con-
founding the heretics that a council made him coadjutor
198 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
to Valerius, and lie died Bishop of Hippo, in 430. His
"City of God," "Confessions," his "Commentaries," and
other works, have been prized in every age of the
Church.
Under such powerful patronage, the Rev. Mr. Ward
went bravely on, and in 1860 completed his church. It
is in the Lombardo-Italian style, with tlu-ee entrances,
and a spire 125 feet high. The aisles are twenty feet
high, and the nave, separated from the aisles by octagon
colimans, has a false clerestory thirty feet high. The
chancel is carried up the full height of the chm'ch, with
octagonal ends, forming an apsis, the rich chancel arch
being supported by large columns. There are two sacris-
ties and an organ gallery across the west end. All the
windows are of stained glass, presented by members of
the congregation. In the windows over the altar you
behold Our Lord and His Blessed Mother, while those
on either side show the figures of St. Peter and the
holy patron of the church, St. Augustine. The Church
is large enough to seat a thousand persons, and cost
fifteen thousand dollars.
Archbishop Hughes took great interest in St. Au-
gustine's, but was prevented b}" illness from dedicating
it to the service of God. That solemn ceremony was
accordingly performed on the 30th of September, 1860,
by the Rev. Francis McNeirny, now Bishop of Albany.
When, by the rites of the Church, the building was thus
CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE. I99
set apai't for the worship of Grod, the altar was properly
adorned and prepared for the offering of the Holy Sacri-
fice. High Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Mr. McNeir-
ny, and an eloquent sermon preached by the Rev. Thomas
Mooney, pastor of St. Bridget's, whose choir volunteered
their services on the interesting occasion.
At the solemn vespers, the Archbishop was able to
administer confirmation, which Avas thus conferred to a
hunch'ed and thirty children of the parish, the very day
the clnu'ch was dedicated.
The Rev. Mr. Ward continued his labors among the
flock whom he had gathered around the altar of St.
Augustine, till his death, June 22, 1863, at the age of
sixty-three. Pie was succeeded by a younger priest, the
Rev. J. P. Woods, born and educated in New York, full
of zeal, never sparing himself in labors for the good
of his people. After being a faithful priest and father
to his flock, he died prematvu'ely, on the 20th of January,
1875, broken down by his constant and holy toil.
Seldom has a priest in so brief a career won not
only the attachment of his flock but the respect of his
fellow clergymen, by his constant devotion to his duties,
his love for the beauty of the house of God, his care
for the fitness of the music, where his admirable taste
guided him, his patience with the erring, his compassion
for the weak, his love for the poor.
Thouffh the Funeral Mass was celebrated at the
200
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, that house of God was
crowded by the congregation of St. Augustine, who came
from MoiTisania to pay a last tribute to the good priest
whose ministry they had enjoyed ; and the Altar Society
placed at the head of the coffin a beautiful floral ofi"ering
Avith the inscription, " To our beloved Pastor."
The affection of the flock was not a blind rever-
ence; the attendance at his obsequies of no less than
ninety priests, and the eulogy pronounced by the Rev.
Dr. McGlynn, showed that the clergy at large honored
him as one of their most exemplary members.
Under the present pastor, the Rev. John McNamee,
St. Augustine's has advanced rapidly, and holds a credit-
able place among the chm'ches.
/-y///" - '
J4>o^ k^'ia^^u^
CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 201
REV. JOHN J. McNAMEK,
PASTOK OP THE CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
THE life (-)f a ])riest on a laborious city mission
is .seldom marked l)y great deeds. Ilis triumphs
are often enemies not seen ; liis victories, in wresting
sovds from the spirits of evil, and the men who wit-
tingly or imwittingly lend themselves to aid their work
in defeating all that our Redeemer has done for the
salvation of mankind.
The priest who confronts pestilence or contagion —
who sacrifices rest, health, life, to fly to the bedside of
the Catholic, who perhaps, long estranged from God, calls
on him for the sacraments he has neglected in health —
finds and seeks no one to herald his labor.
His consolation and his triumphs are generally bmned
in the secret of his own heart.
In the sketches here given we can profess to enter
into no detail of this heroic career of the priest, but
simply gi\e the few facts of external life that meet the
general eye.
The present jiastor of St. Augustine's Church was
bom in the Count}- Longford, Ireland, on the 12th of
September, 1847. From his boyhood, his early inclina-
202
CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
tion was evinced in unmistakable signs to be not for
this world, but for the ser\nce of God. This vocation
was not lost. He was educated for the priesthood in St.
Mell's Seminary, Longford, and there made choice of
America as the field in which he hoped to spend his
priestly career. Having come to tliis country in 1864,
lie entered the College of the Society of Jesus, at
Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was graduated with
honors in 1866. He immediately jwoceeded to St. Joseph's
Seminary, in Tro}', -where, imder the guidance of the
excellent professors of that provincial school of the clergy,
he completed his course of theology and other ecclesias-
tical studies. On the 22d of May, 1869, he was pro-
moted to the jiriesthood, receiving ordination from his
Eminence Cardinal McCloskey, at that time Bishop of
Albany.
The first field assigned to the young priest was the
position of assistant at St. Mary's Chm-ch, Clifton, Staten
Island, where he remained till November, 1871. He was
then called to St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, where he discharged
the laborious duties of assistant till the 15th of Feb-
ruary, 1875.
The experience acquired under a venerable priest in
a countiy parish was thus increased by experience as
assistant at the Cathedral. On the death of the Rev.
Mr. Woods, the Rev. Mr. McNamee was chosen pastor
of the Church of St. Augustine.
CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 203
KOLL
OF H
ONOR.
Bevgen, Margaret.
Gavin, Frank.
Monighan, William.
Bradley, Mrs.
Geraghty, Michael.
Mooney, Edward.
Bowes, J.
Gilligan, Henry.
Morris, Hugh.
Boyle. Neil, Mrs.
Gillignn, Mary.
Mulliall, Mrs.
Bracken, John Henry.
Gilligan, Patrick.
Mullaney, Mary.
Bra.ly, E.
Gleeson, Michael.
Mullany, John.
Brady, Thomas.
Green, J. J.
Murphy, John.
Brien, James.
Hanlon, James.
Murray, Patrick.
Brown, James.
Hannon. P. C.
Nagle, William.
Browne, Edward.
Haugh, George.
Nailon, Edward.
Bryan, M.
Hawkins, Ellen.
Nolan, P.
Biirgen, Adam.
Hogan, J. C.
O'Brien, Edward.
Burns, Michael.
Johnson, Jane, Mrs.
O'Connor, John.
Byrnes. Bernard.
Johnson, John.
O'Connor. Michael.
Callighan. John.
^xeane, Mrs.
O'Dell, Miss.
Campbell, Hugh J.
Kearney, Mrs.
Oechs, E.
Cannon. John.
Kehoe, Edward.
O'Hara, Patrick.
Cantwell, Michael.
Keiley, James.
O'Leary, Margaret.
Carpenter, Thomas.
Kelly, JIary.
O'Rourke, Miss.
Cassidy, James.
Kingston, John.
O'Toole, John P.
Cassidy, Michael.
Kingston, 'SVilliam.
Pearl, John.
Clark, John J.
Kinsella, John.
Perry, J'lavius J.
Condon, John.
Kirby, John.
Peters, John.
Conors, E.
Kuntz, W. J.
Regan, Mrs.
Cooney, Mary.
Leahy, Mrs.
Reilly, Mary.
Corbett, James, Mrs.
Lynch, J., Mrs.
Rodney, E. Miss.
Cornell, John.
Lyons, .\nn.
Royce, Mrs.
Coyne. Catharine.
McAulilTe, Thomas.
Seebor, John.
Cullen, Thomas, Mrs.
McCabe, Francis.
Sheeian, Edward.
Cunningham, Michael.
McCarthy, Miss.
Sheridan, Bridget.
Dolan, Maggie.
McDonnell, John.
Shorn, John.
Donnelly, Patrick.
McGough, Henry.
Slavin, Patrick, Mrs.
Doomen, Patrick.
McGuire, Hugh.
Smith, John.
Borland, Miss.
Mcllman, John.
Smith, M ichael C.
Doud, Thomas.
McKenna, C.
Stone, William.
Drummond, Mrs.
McKnilT, James.
Sullivan, Patrick.
Duane, James.
McMahon, Dennis.
Tiernan, Eihvard.
Duggan, P.
McM.ihon, James.
Tierney, Miss.
Dunne, Eliza, Mrs.
McMahon, John.
Traynor, Owen.
Egan, Mary.
McMahon, William.
Tuthill, E.
English, Thomas.
McNamara, E.
Tyrell, John.
Fagan, Patrick.
McNulty, P.
Wall, John.
Farrell, James.
McShane, Hugh.
Walsh, John.
Ferrigan, Hugh.
McWilliams, Catharine
Webb, i'eler.
Finn, John.
Mahoney, Andrew.
Whelan, John.
Fitzpatrick, Francis,
Meeghan, Joseph.
White, Mrs.
Galvin, P.
Melville, Rose.
Woods, John.
CHUllCH OF SAINT BERNAUD.
WEST FOURTEENTH STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT BERNARD.
WEST FOURTEENTH STREET.
THE last strains of the Salve Regina always call
to mind tlie great St. Bernard, the glory of the
Cistercian Order, and call to mind also one of the grand-
est cathedrals of Em-ope, that of Spii'es ; for it was there
that, as the monks receiving him chanted the Salve
Regina, he added the words, " 0 clement, 0 pious, 0
sweet Virgin Mary ! "
Doctor by his learning, apostle by his heart-reaching
sermons, combining the highest spiritual gifts with great
activity and capacity for external affairs, St. Bernard is
eminently a type for our times, a saint worthy of es-
pecial patronage.
The Fathers of the Church are not unhonored among
us. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Alphonsus are in-
voked as holy patrons. St. Bernard, too, was to be
added.
"In the year 18GS, the Most Reverend Archbishop
McCloskey deemed it necessary to lay off a new paro-
chial district on the west side of the city in order to
relieve the other churches. To organize the faithful, and
in time erect a suitable church, he selected the Rev.
206 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Gabriel A. Healy, then assistant at St. Peter's Church.
As a temporary chapel this clergyman pui'chased an old
wagon factory on West Thirteenth Street, belonging to the
Knickerbocker Ice Company, a building in a most wretched
condition. It could, however, it was found, be restored
so as to use for a chapel without danger. After making
necessary repaii's, the reverend pastor was enabled to fit
up the second story as a chapel.
It was opened on "Wliitsunday, May 31, 1868, when
mass was for the first time celebrated. The parish was
soon thoroughly animated with a life and spirit of its
own ; the permanency of the new congregation was as-
sured. The ground for a church worthy of our faith
was selected, and the temporary chapel was accordingly
dedicated with the solenm rites of the Chm-ch on the
4th of April, 1869, by his Grace the Most Rev. Dr.
McCloskey. After tliis consoling ceremony, a High Mass
was celebrated b}' the Very Rev. William Starrs, Vicar
General, with the Rev. William Quinn of St. Peter's as
deacon, and the Rev. John Hughes as subdeacon. Rev.
Francis McNeirny being master of ceremonies. A sermon
was delivered by the Most Reverend Archbishop, and
another in the evening by the Rev. Dr. McGlynn.
If the commencement was poor and liumble, and
the place once but the loft of wheelwrights, high digni-
taries of the Church did not disdain to encourage the
faithful by their presence. So zealously had the pastor
CHURCH OF ST. BERNARD. 207
set about liis duties that before the end of another
year, May 12, 18G9, the Ai-clibishop again visited the
humble but fervent chapel to administer the sacrament
of confirmation to two hundi'ed children, who had been
prepared for its reception.
Rev. Mr. Healy had meanwhile purchased, on the first
of May, a site for the new church on West Fourteenth
Street, between Eig-hth and Ninth Avenues, and estab-
lished a Chm-ch Building Association to aid in the good
work. Fairs, excursions, and other modes of interesting
people in the church, with direct collections, showed
so liberal a response as to justify the pastor in commenc-
ing St. Bernard's on the 8th of May, 1872, by excavat-
ing the ground to lay the foundation. The corner-stone
was laid on the 11th of May, 1873, by the Most Rever-
end Archbishop, assisted by the Rt. Rev. David W.
Bacon, Bishop of Portland, and the Rt. Rev. Francis
McNeirny, Bishop of Albany. Various societies connected
with the chm'ch attended, and the faithful gathered in
vast crowds, regardless of the threatening weather, so that
it was estimated that nearly ten thoiisand persons were
present. They were eloquently addressed on the occasion
by the Rev. M. J. O'Farrell, of St. Peter's Church, New
York.
Encouraged by the Archbishop, priest and people
went zealously on, though the general financial distress
of the country, throwing thousands out of employment,
208 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OP NEW YORK.
made many unable to aid as generously as they desired.
The church was, however, at last completed, and on the
30th of May, 1875, solemnly dedicated to St. Ber-
nard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, by
his Eminence Cardinal McClo'skey. It is the pride of
the pastor and his flock that their church is the first
dedicated by an American Cardinal. The sermon at the
High Mass was delivered by the Rt. Rev. B. J. Mc-
Quaid, Bishop of Rochester. A rich scarlet velvet throne
was erected for the first American Cardinal, and the altar
was di-aped with the same color. The altar was extremely
rich and tastefully adorned, as were the two side altars
of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, while the elegant
stained glass windows poured in rays of tinted light, which
made the procession as it filed into the sanctuary re-
sjilendent; and showed the ancient faith in all the grandeur
of its ritual.
The Archbishop congratulated the faithfvil on the suc-
cess of all their labors and sacrifices. " Much of the
success of this grand undertaking," said he, "is due to
the zeal, i^iety, and energy of your beloved pastor, who
has toiled night and day to complete the work. To-
day he sees in some sense his reward. You have all
labored with him, and whatever you have given, you
have given with whole hearts, and you will find your
reward hereafter. But in finishing this temple to Al-
mighty God, all is not accomplished, great as yoirr
CHURCH OF ST. BERNARD. 209
sacrifices have been. There is much yet to be done.
You have built a temple for the present, as it exists ; but
during- the next ten years, crowded as it is to-day, there
%yill be still larger crowds within its walls. I wish you
all the blessing- of the Almighty God present in this
church to-day, and ask }'ou to remember that hereafter,
in another temple not built by human hands, we may,
if our lives are pure and our paths in the way of God,
meet together in that temple which is above."
The piety of the congregation has been sustained by
every available means. Missions, most consoling in their
beneficial influence, were given by the Redemptorist
Father in the temporary church in 1872, and by the
Jesuit Father Damen and his associates in the new and
elegant edifice in 1875.
Eight hundred and five persons were confirmed in
the humble temple first occupied, and five hundred and
thirty-two in the autumn of 1875 in the new church.
The chm-cli edifice itself is a conspicuous monument
of the piety and zeal of priest and people. Of a true
ecclesiastical style, grand and imposing, it attracts the
eye of thousands passing up and down the adjacent
avenue, and none has any occasion to inquire what the
building is, for it speaks for itself, that it is a Catholic
church.
We mio'ht call it the Church of the " Memorare," so
much has that prayer, di'awn from tlie ^vorks of St. Ber-
14
210 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
nard, by "The Poor Priest," Father Bernard, done to
stimulate piety to the Blessed Virgin and keep alive the
memory of the holy doctor.
St. Bernard was always one to influence others.
When he renounced the world and resolved to enter a
monastery, he did not go alone. Full of zeal for others,
he induced no less than tliirty of his young- companions
to join him, and the influence of his eloquence showed
itself in the realit}' of their vocations. They saved
Citeaux, which was almost abandoned, antl infused such
a new life that in 1115 Claii-vaux ^^■as fovuided and Ber-
nard made abbot. His monastery became a hi\'e for
bishops and abbots ; he even saw one of his monks
raised to the Hoi}- See. He was the light of several
councils, caused Europe to recognize Pope Innocent II.
and reject the Antipope Anacletus ; and saved Europe
from Saracen invasion by his exertions to rouse the
princes and warriors of the West to undertake a crusade.
Amid all his active life he seemed to be ever in prayer
or at studv. His works breathe the most tender piety,
with the learning of the theologian and the brilliancy of
the poet.
The Order which he raised, as it were from the
grave, spread in his day to England and Ireland. He
was thus brought in contact with our fathers in the
faith. St. Malachy died in his arms, and found a biog-
rapher in tliis holy doctor of the Chui-ch. Thus endeared
CliURCH OF ST. BERNARD. 211
to ireliiiid, the Cistercians acc(>iu})lislR-(l \vi>iRk'rs in ruut-
ing the truths of rehgion so deep in tlie liearts of those
they taught that no persecutions could tear them from
the faith of St. Patrick.
As if to carry out the devotion of the ]u>\y patrt)U
to Our Lady, all the important events in the history of
the . parish are recorded in the month of May. The
site of the church was bought in May, 1867 ; the first
work begun in May, 1872; the corner-stone laid in May,
1873, and the dedication in May, 1875.
The church with its g-rounds cost over two hundi-ed
thousand dollars — the church proper Sl85, 320.50 — and
nearly half this amount has been already paid.
As assistants in the good work of the pastor we
find the names of Rev. Messrs. James Galligan, Michael
Brennan, Bartholomew Galligan, Patrick J. Ilealy, Patrick
S. Rigney, and William J. O'Kelly. His associates at
present are the Rev. William J. Foy and the Rev. John
J. Riordan.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paid has been organ-
ized for the relief of the poor; a Temperance Society
to give strength and encouragement to the weak, and
preserve sobriety ; the Rosary Society does its holy work ;
the Childi'en of Mary, with kindred societies, nourish
the piety of the young ladies, while the young gentle-
men find in St. Bernard's Literary Union, and Literary
Association, a centre for social intercom-se and the
212 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
strengtliening of sound principles and literary culture.
The societies belonging to the chui'ch number in all
thirteen.
These church associations are a peculiar want of om-
time. The sodalities and confraternities instituted in the
Church for union and prayer, and enriched with indul-
gences and fxvors by the Sovereign Pontiffs, attract the
pious, but fe^\ men can be drawn into them.
While Masonic Lodges, Odd Fellows, and secret
societies of every name and form permeate the whole
fabric of society, and are constantly alluring Catholic
men and youth to enter them — cutting themselves off,
though they do, from the Chm-ch and its means of grace,
by passing their portals — it is evident that the fostering
of associations in which Catholics can and will come
together for benevolent, literary or other j^m-poses, is one
of the great needs of our time.
In such associations each becomes an element of
sti'ength to his brother, and the whole a tower of
strength. The Catholic is no longer isolated. He feels
that he will be sujjported in fidelity to his religion ; he
becomes a hundred-fold more deeply interested in his
church and its interests, in all works of charity, in the
relief of the poor; and, above all, he liegins to feel how
much depends on a sound Catholic education, and what
it behooves every man to do for the maintenance and
perfection of oui- system of parochial schools.
CHURCH OF ST. BERNARD. 213
REV. GABRIEL A. HEALY,
PASTOR OF ST. BERNARD'S.
THE Rev. Gabriel A. Healy is a native of New
York City, born October 20th, 1841, and baptized
in its oldest parish — St. Peter's. He was of a studious
tiu'n, and after some early training at the school of the
Cliristian Brothers, in Canal Street, entered the College
of St. Francis Xavier, in Fifteenth Street, in 1853, and
went through the course with credit. He was graduated
in 1860, and having determined to embrace the ecclesias-
tical state, was sent by the Archbishop to pursue his
coui'se of theology in the great seminary of St. Sulpice,
Montreal.
Havino- here stored his mind with the dogmatic lore
and the moral theology, as well as the Scriptural know-
ledge and the principles of the canon law, he returned
to his own diocese, and in September, 1864, Avas ordained
subdeacon, deacon, and priest, by the Right Rev. James
Roosevelt Bayley, D.D., then Bishop of Newark.
The first position assigned to the young priest was
that of assistant in his native parish, of which the Rev.
William Quinn was then rector. Here he remained about
tlu'ee years and a half, establishing a reputation as a priest
214 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
whose future promised great usefulness to souls in the
Church of God.
His zeal and piety, with a readiness for business
management so necessary and requisite in a j'rifst who
has to organize a new flock and erect a church, when
all the resources have to be drawn from voluntary con-
tributions, were all displayed so clearly in the Rev. Mr.
Healy that all saw he must soon be called to a sjihere
where these qualities would find employment.
Wliat he has accomplished in the establishment of
St. Bernard's parish and the erection of the noble church
has already been told ; and this constitutes his biography.
He has the talent of interesting all his people in his
projects, so that they take them up as really some-
thing for their own good and the good of their chikben
after them — not anything for his benefit or even the grati-
fication of a personal vanity to be flattered by their accom-
plishment.
Feeling proud of their church, and anxious to see it
completed and freed from debt, the parishioners of both
sexes have been prompt to act on the least suggestion,
and as societies have been formed among them to suit
the tastes of all, the pastor in guiding them is brought
in contact with all his people, who are not left in mere
apathy to see him struggle, Ijut all become workers in
the good cause.
CIIURCU OF ST. BERNARD.
21^
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR.
Arneel, Robert.
Ashe, Gregory.
Baklvvin, Patrick J.
Begg, Kate M., Mrs.
Bell, James.
Bennett, John.
Bodine, Kdmond.
Boylan, Michael.
Burns, William.
Butler, William.
Byrne, Martin W.
Cagney, fames.
Carroll, Roger.
Carroll, Thomas.
Clarke, Thomas.
Cleary, John.
Conway, John M.
Coogan, Patrick.
Curbett, Bernard.
Corrigan, John P.
Craven, Patrick.
Crosson, Thomas.
Crumley, James.
Cussen, John.
Deane, George B.
Delany, Mary, Mrs.
Devanney, James P.
Devine, James.
Devine, Michael.
Downey, Bridget M.
Dowiring, Delia, Mrs.
Driscall, Timothy.
Dugan, Michael,
Dunn, Ann, Mrs.
Dwyer, Timothy.
Early, Edward.
Fealy, James.
Feeney, Peter.
Fitzgerald, Honora, Mrs.
Filzsinimons, Thomas,
Flynn, Michaeh
Flynn, P. H.
Fogarty, Michael.
Fogarty, Patrick A.
Fowley, Delia.
Francy, 'I'homas.
Frazer, John P.
Gallagher, Michael.
Garvey, Bernard.
Geary, Patrick W.
Godby, George W.
Goley, Mary..
Grifiin, Jeremiah.
Hagen, Mary, Mrs.
Ilalpin, Matthew.
Halpin, William.
Halsted, Justin J.
Hamill, Anthony.
Hanlon, Richard.
Hart, Patrick J.
Healey, John J.
Healey, Thomas F.
Hernon, James.
Herrick, C. Mrs.
Herrick, William J.
Higgins, Daniel.
Higgins, John.
Hoaghland, I. C.
Holtan, Kdw.ard.
Hui^hes, Catharine, Mrs,
Kenelian, Richard F.
Kennedy, John.
Larkin, Felix.
Leonard, William.
Linherr, John A.
Logue, Philip.
Lynch, Mary Teresa, Mrs.
McDermott, John.
McDcrmott, Lawrence.
McDermott, William.
McDcmald, John.
McDonald, Joseph.
McGee, Michael.
McGovern, Hugh.
McGrory, Honora.
McGuire, Michael.
Mcllhargy, John.
Mclntyre, Margaret, Mrs.
McLoughlin, Kclward,
Mc.Manus, Ann, Mrs.
Meehan, Terence.
Minerd, Edward,
Molloughney, Michael, Jr.
Mooney, Christopher.
Mulry, Thomas.
Mulry, William P.
Murphy, Michael J.
Murphy, Thomas.
Murphy, William.
Murray, William.
Murtlia, Thomas.
O'Connell, John.
O'Donoghue, Dennis.
O'Neil, Charles J.
O'Rourke, Owen,
O'Shaughnessy, Michael.
Penny, James.
Purtill, William.
Quinlon, Catharine.
Rafferty, John.
Reilly, P.atrick.
Reynolds, Lawrence.
Roach, John.
Rogan, John.
Rooney, James.
Rourke, John.
Rowan, James.
Ryan, Cornelius L.
Ryan, Edward.
Ryan, George.
Ryan, Patrick.
Scanlan, Michael J.
Scanlon, Michael.
Sheridan, Bridget, Mrs.
SkiiTrnglon, Margaret.
Smith, Alfred.
Walsh, Jolm.
Walsh, Mathew J.
Wilson, .\ndrew.
Woods, John.
O
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O
P
o I
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an
CHURCH OF SAINT BONIFACE.
SECOND AVENUE AND FOKTY-SEVENTH STREET.
IT was fitting' that the great City of New York, with
its vast German population, should have a church
dedicated to the illustrious St. Winfrid, who renounced
his abbey in Saxon England to become the apostle of Ger-
many. Born in Devonshire about the year 680 ; trained
to virtue and the perfection of the monastic state, he
became a preacher of wonderful power over the souls of
men in his own land ; and then, burning with zeal to
bear the light of the gospel to the heathen tribes of the
Low Countries and Germany, he endeavored to convert
the King of Friesland. He was soon after made abbot,
but renounced the dignity to gi^-e himself entirely to the
conversion of the heathen.
Encouraged by the blessing of Pope Gregory II.,
St. Winfrid, or Boniface, as he now began to be called,
baptized thousands in Bavaria, Tliuringia, Friesland,
Hesse, and Saxonv, and was made by the Pope, Bishop
and subsequently Archbishop of Germany, and legate of
the Holy See. He is thus the great central figure of
the German hierarchy. His see was fixed at Jlentz,
which is the metropolitan church for Germany. After
218 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
convening several councils, in which every precaution was
taken to guard the faith, St. Boniface renewed his
apostolic missions, and was put to death by the heathens
June 5, 755, obtaining the crown of mart}T and apostle.
His body, enshrined at Fidda, has been a pilgrimage
for more than a thousand years, and veneration to him
is inseparable from the heart of a true German Catholic.
In the year 1858, a few who deserved that name,
and who resided in the Nineteenth Ward of New York
City, resolved to take steps for the erection of a new
church as a safeguard for the faith of their families. They
collected among the Catholics of that neighborhood,
$792.88, and borrowing more, purchased tlu-ee lots of
ground on the south-east corner of Second Avenue and
East Forty-seventh Street, as a site for a church to be
dedicated to the w^orsliip of Almighty God, under the
invocation of the great saint who closed his missionary
career by so noble a martyrdom.
On the ground thus acquired stood an humble frame
structure sixty feet in length by twenty in breadth,
which had been used as a carpenter's shop. It was
now to be sanctified by its dedication to a worship of
which its original builders knew little. The fiiith which
had its cradle at Bethlehem has in New York City be-
gun in many parishes with homes as devoid of all
luxman pomp and show as the grotto near the holy city
of David — the future shrine of religion, in bold and
CHURCH OF ST. BONIFACE. 219
grandest iircliitecturc, rising- from the world-despised be-
jjinnina- as did the t'aitli itself.
Skillful hands soon transformed the workshop of the
artisans dear to tlic heart tif St. Joseph into a tempo-
rary chapel. The Most Reverend Archbishop Ilug-hes not
only encouraged the work, but came on the 17tli day
of October, 1858, to dedicate this modest edifice to the
service of Almighty God. He Avas attended by his secre-
tary, the Rev. Francis McNeirny, now Bishop of Albany,
and performed the ceremony of dedication. The church
was simple and humble, but the majesty of Catholic
worship ennoljles the spot. Said a missionary of two
centuries previous, who had reared in a day a bark
chapel at Onondaga : " It is true that for all marbles
and all precious metals we emploj'ed only bark ; but as
soon as it was built it was sanctified by the baptism of
three children, to whom the way to heaven was opened
as wide beneath these layers of bark, as to those Avho
are held (ner fonts beneath vaults of silver and a'old."
The chui'ch was dedicated to the service of Al-
mighty God under the invocation of St. Boniface ; and
the Rev. Matthew NIcot, whom the Most Reverend
Archbishop had apjiointed pastor of the new church, as-
cended to the altar which he had reared, and Intoned
the solemn sacrifice of the new law in the presence of
the chief pastor of the diocese. The pulpit was occupied
that day by the Rev. Ambrose Buchmeyer, pastor of the
220
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Church of St. Nicholas, in Second Street, the pioneer of
the German churches in our city.
The pastor began his mission labors with the bless-
ing of God and the patronage of the great-hearted English
saint of old ; and he is laboring still among the same flock.
The fold was soon too small. In abovit tliree years he
found it necessary to enlarge the dimensions of his chapel
by new additions. This even did not suffice, and a second
enlargenient was required.
In the year 1868, the congregation, who had gone
on modestly and quietly, resolved to replace the tenqjo-
rary stmcture by a more substantial edifice. The original
chapel was accordingly removed, and a neat and modest
brick church, suited to their wants and means, was erected
in that and the following year. It did not aspire to
rival the great cathedrals of Europe. The country liad
just emerged from a tremendous civil war, and times of
financial trouble were at hand. The church accommodates
about one thousand, and with its neat altar and decorous
service, attracts many hearts more than edifices A\liich in
their splendor seem to divert rather than inspire devotion.
This new Church of St. Boniface was dedicated in
May, 1869, by Father Bonaventura Frey.
While content with a modest church, the congrega-
tion covdd afibrd to make sacrifices for a school, and in
the year of tlie dedication of the new church, erected a
convenient school-house.
^■•~-^'<>J^^5^®^'^>fss^
t^^. ly^^^fi^
CHUECII OF ST. BONIFACE. 221
li E V . j\I A T T II E W N IC 0 T ,
PASTOR OF ST. BONIFACE'S CHURCH.
THE Rev. Matthew Nicot, founder and for the
last twenty years pastor of the Church of St.
Boniface, is a native of the province of Lorraine, bom in
what was the Department de hi Meurthe, France, before
that unhappy war in which the house of Bonaparte lost
what the Bourbons had won. He was bom in the year
1820, and was educated at Pont-a-Mousson and at Nancy.
He was ordained in 1846, and having resolved to labor
for the good of souls in this country, where so great
need existed, he came to America in 1857, and was for
a time assistant to Rev. Annet Lafont, in the Church of
St. Vincent de Paul, and also at St. Ann's, before he
took charge of the flock which assumed as its holy patron
the great apostle of Germany.
From his installation there, he was also for some
time chaplain of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Good
Shepherd and of the penitent ^^■omen under their charge.
In 1869, he erected a convenient school-house on
two lots of ground which he had prudently purchased
some years before. Here tlu^ee hinidred and fifty pupils
are regularly instructed in English and German.
222 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Tha next }-ear the pastor purchased a modest pas-
toral residence, No. 307 East Forty-seventh Street, oppo-
site the chureli, the shaded court leading to the home
of the priest of St. Boniface.
The couirreiration numbers about twelvt- Juuidred,
and the annual baptisms add eighty to the tlock.
St. Boniface has, among- other aids to piety and
zeal, a tlu-iving- Altar Society — in which the ladies show
their love for the beauty of God's house — and a Rosary
Society.
lie has not generally had an assistant, discharging
alone the duties of his j^arochial charge among the coit-
gregation to whom a ministry of nearly a quarter of a
century has endeared him.
The life of a priest in his daily ministration — his
offering the Holy Sacrifice, the recitation of his office,
his i)rivate devotions, his supervision of his schools, visits
to the sick and those Avho need his word of encourage-
ment, baptizing the infant, instructing and directing
those A\'ho come to learn the truth, long hours spent in
the confessional, the Sunday and holiday with their ex-
hausting service, two masses, perhaps, and vespers — all
this has little that strikes the unobservant eye, Init where
zealously and faithfulh' dischai-ged these duties make a
career heroic.
Roll of Honor.— August Wolf; Bernard Wenning; F. A.
Newman; Charles Spilea; William Michels, jr.; Edward Kennedy; Mrs.
Caroline Feist; Patrick Crowe.
(J HUH on or satnt b hid get.
AVENUE B.
CHURCH OF SAINT BRIDGET.
AVENUE B.
A
BOUT the year 1848, the Rev. Richard Kern, a
young- and brilhant priest, while pastor of the
Chui'ch of the Nativity, saw that another church was
needed in the eastern part of the city, and resolved to
erect a temple to the ]\Iost Hig-h, which should be
under the especial patronage of the Mary of Ireland,
one of the wonder-working Triad whose names are al-
ways associated in the reverence of Irish hearts.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes, ^^diose secretary the
Rev. Mr. Kein had been for a time, encouraged him, deem-
ing it easier to find one to replace him in a settled
jDarish than to meet one so fitted for the creation of
a new church.
The Rev. Mr. Kein, a native of Meath, educated at
Mount St. Mary's, and with four years' experience in the
ministry, looked for a church site in a central position
in the district assigned to his care and guidance. He
found it on Avenue B, near Eighth Street, facing the
East River, and fronting immediately on Tompkins
Square, thus affording exceptional advantages for a church,
with nothing to darken It in front or at the side.
CHURCH OF ST. r.UIDCKT. 2'2f)
The faithful of the new parish of St. Bridget were
soon aroused, and every feehng of devotion and rational
pride impelled them to exertions to make the church of
their holy patroness worthy of so great a saint.
The Right Reverend Bishop, in order to aid by Iiis
presence and influence, laid the corner-stone on Sunday,
the 10th of September, 1848. An inniiense crowd gath-
ered in the just connnenced church, filling platforms and
rising walls to witness the imposing ceremonial and listen
to the eloquent words of a bishop whose name and
fame had spread tlu-ough tlie country. So great was
the crush that one of the newly laid walls sank under
the weight, causing some alarm, but fortunately no serious
accident to mar the spiritual joy of the congregation,
whose noble church had just received the blessing of
God on its earliest work.
So rapidly was the church completed that before
the close of the year it was ready for the offering of
the Holy Sacrifice. It is justly remarked l)y the })reseut
23astor, that the erection of the church " was regarded at
the time as an immense undertaking, and indeed even in om-
day such a beautiful church would be a great monument
of the zeal and self-sacrifice of any priest." Of Father
Kein the late Archbishop Hughes made the remark, "that
he ought to have a statue of solid gold erected in this
church, to commemorate his toil and extraordinary en-
terprise."
15
226 CATHOLIC CHURCHES or NEW YORK.
The magnitude of the undertakiBg is enhanced when
we reflect that Ireland had just passed tln'ough the terrible
famine of 1847, and was convulsed by the throes of
revolution, and that the calls on the charity of the Irish
Catholics in New York were constant and pressing.
On the 2d of December the Bishop again honored
the church. It was solemnly dedicated to the worship
of God, and a Solemn High Mass offered with the rich
ceremonial, the exquisite music — all that zeal and piety
could bring to add dignity to the first service.
The church itself, in its vast proportions, in the
symmetry of its architecture, in the size and adornment
of its altar, was a great step in advance ; many of our
earlier churches having been substantial and plain, with
no attempt to copy the elegance that the builders of tlie
Middle Ages threw into the churches of Europe.
After comjjleting so noble a monument to the virgin
saint of Erin, the pastor devoted himself to the build-
ing up of a nobler temple in the liearts of his faithful.
It was soon a well-organized parish, instinct with true
Catholic life, and keenly alive to anything affecting the
honor of St. Bridget's.
Large as his church seemed to be originally for his
congregation, it soon proved to be none too spacious.
It was tlu-onged with devout worshij^ers ; the childi-en in
the Sunday-schools, opened for their instruction, showed
by their numbers the great want that had existed, and
CHURCir OF ST. BRIDGET. 227
as early as Juiic 2,"), l<S5o, wc tiud tliu IM^lit Kevereiid
Bishop confirming four liuudred and forty in this new
parish.
The j)astoriil duties were too onerous for one clergy-
man, and the pastor was assisted successively by the
Rev. Thomas Farrell and the Rev. Edward Murphy.
For the use of the parochial clergy, Rev. Mr. Keiii, in
1851, erected a convenient pastoral residence. In the
year 1852 it was evident that his health was irretrievably
affected, and the Most Reverend Archbishop called to the
parish one whose abilities and zeal were ever at his ser-
vice where difficulties were to be encountered, the Do-
minican Father Thomas Martin. The Rev. Mr. Kein sank
gradually, and died at Westchester, January 9, 1854.
Father Martin remained in the church as pastor,
merely till everything was in proper order, when the
Ai'chbishop selected as rector the Rev. Thomas J. i\Ioo-
ney, a young priest ordained in January, 1853. This
clergyman, in a pastorate of nearly a quarter of a cen-
tury, identified his name with St. Bridget's Church. The
Rev. Mr. O'P^arrell, at his funeral mass, said : —
" Father Mooney had labored in the world by preach-
ing the Word of God to the people of St. Bridget's.
During all his priestly career of twenty-four years he
had been connected with that parish, and scarcely ever
left it. He was known by all as a friend to whom
they could always come with confidence. In his private
228 CATHOLIC C1IUKCHE8 OF NEW ^ ORK.
conversations, us well as in liis public preaching-, lie
always endeavored to impress u})on his hearers the truths
of" the Gospel. Father Mooney had also labored in tloc-
trine — that is, he had always striven to promulgate the
Catholic doctrines, especially by means tif education."
He felt the vast importance of a truly Catholic
training for the young, and at once after appointment
set about meeting the great want. He established an
excellent parochial school, placing the boys under Broth-
ers of the Christian Schools, and the girls under Sisters
of Charity. With convenient school-house, well-ventilated
and Avell-furnished rooms, the parochial institution tlu'ove
so that in a few years it had eight hvmcb'ed boys and
one thousand girls receiving a thorough, and, what is best,
a Catholic education. Besides this school he induced the
Sisters to open St. Bridget's Academy in East Tenth
Street, an excellent select school, which is attended by
more than two hundi-ed pupils.
At the commencement of the civil war, when the
Sixty-ninth Regiment New York State National Guard vol-
unteered for service and proceeded to the seat of war, the
pastor of St. Bridget's offered to act as their chaplain,
and his offer was accepted by Government. He dis-
charged his duties during their term of service, and on
the 14th of August, 1861, offered up a Solemn Requiem
Mass in St. Bridget's for the repose of the souls of the
deceased members of the regiment. The beautiful church
CllUliCII OF ST. imiDGET. 22!)
was draped in mouniiiiji-; a catafalque in the middle aisle
represented the dead who were buried on the field uliere
they had so gallantly fallen — the first of thousands of
Catholics who poured out their life lilood for the pre-
servation of the American Republic in its integrity.
The Rev. Mr. Mooney celebrated the mass, assisted
by the Rev. Mr. Brennan as deacon and the Rev. Mr.
Asmuth as subdeacon, and closed the solemn service by
some touching- remarks on the deceased.
Returning to the seat of war as chaplain to the
Irish Brigade, he, for a considerable period, exchanged
the quiet routine of parish duty for the dangerous and
stirring life of an army chaplain, serving also with the
Irish Brigade in the terrible operations that so often
devolved upon it.
He resumed his duties at St. Bridget's with new zeal
and his wonted activity, and not long after performed
the marriage service between one of his parishioners,
Lieut. Fitch, Engineer U.S.N. , and the daughter of W.
T. Sherman, General of the United States Army
His life of labor and usefulness was sadly closed.
While driving home through Fifth Avenue on the e\('ning
of September 11th, 1877, his vehicle was overturned near
the corner of Forty-seventh Street by a heap of stones,
carelessly left there and not lighted. Thrown violentl}-
against the curbstone, his skidl was fractured. He was
taken to the pastoral residence of the Church of St.
230 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
John the Evangelist, but tliough hopes were entertained
of his recovery, he sank rapidly, and expired on the
13th. His loss filled liis parish with j^rofound grief. At
the Reqiiieni Mass, the children of the schools and many
of the people wore mourning. After the Office of the
Dead, a Solemn High Mass was sung by the Rev. Mr.
McGean, Bishop Con-igan of Newark, and Bishop Mc-
Neirny of Albany, with nearly a hundi-ed priests being
present. A fitting tribute to the deceased pastor was
paid by the Rev. Mr. O'Farrell of St. Peter's Church,
Barclay Street, taking as his text the words of St. Paul
to Timothy : " Let the priests who do well be esteemed
worth}^ of double honor, especially those who labor in
the word and in doctrine."
On the untimely death of this active and energetic
priest, his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey appointed the
Rev. Dr. P. F. McSweeny to the widowed parish. Under
his care it advances in the way of prosperity. The
schools maintain their high excellence, and though, owang
to the prevailing depression in business and consequent
distress among the humbler portion of the community,
many are unable to continue sending their childi'en to
school, they nmnbered in 1878, six hundi-ed and fifty
boys and nine hundi-ed girls.
In a parish so well conducted as St. Bridget's we
naturally look for Catholic associations. They are a great
means for bringing the members of a congregation into
CHURCH OF ST. lililDGET.
231
closei' union, in shielding tlioni from the .ittraction of
forbidden societies, and in fostering piety, devotedness,
and a feeling of jtride in flic clnirch and its work.
St. liridget's lias long had an Altar Society of ladies,
who love the beauty of God's liouse and altar, and affec-
tionately contrlliute to its becoming adornment ; a Tiosary
Society, in which that ancient prayer is recited in com-
mon. The St. Bridget's Benevolent Association and the
Conference of the Society of St. Vincent do Panl are
the channels of Christian charity ; the Total Abstinence
Society encourages those who find themselves too weak
to resist a craving for drink, to renounce it altogether,
strengthened by God's grace imparted in tlie sacraments.
The Sunday-schools, -witli their good library, interest
the young, for -whom a special mass is said e^-ery Sunday
Roll of Honor.
Arlhui', Rosaniia.
Attritlge, JoliTi ('•.
Halbert, Slary.
Barry, James.
Realty, Martin.
ISl.alier, Julia, Mrs.
Blackweil, TliOTuas.
Blessing, Peter.
Bowe, Peter.
Boylan, Owen.
Boyle, Mary.
Braily, Ann, Mrs.
Brady, Michael.
Buckley, Daniel.
Burns, John.
Burns, Mark.
Burns, Patrick.
Burns, William.
Burke, Michael J.
Byrne, Patrick.
Cafiry, Peter.
Cagney, William.
Cahill, John.
Campbell, Francis.
Cannavan, P.
Carey, Andrew.
Carroll, James.
Carroll, Michael.
Carroll, Richard.
Casey, Peter.
Casey, Robert.
Cassidy, Patrick.
Cassidy, Thomas.
Clancy, Patrick.
Clarke, .Mexander.
Clarke, .\nn.
Clifford, Cornelius.
Clifford, Patrick.
Conlan, Francis.
Connolly, 'lliomas.
Connolly, \\'illiam.
Conroy, Julward.
232
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Conway, James.
Conway, Maurice, Mrs.
Corr, Thomas.
Corrig.in, Bridget.
Cosgrove, James.
Costello, Edward.
Creedon, J.anies.
Crosley, Elizabeth.
Crowley, Cornelius,
Crummy, Andrew.
CuUen, Charles.
Cunningham, M.ary, Mrs.
Cunnion, James.
Curry, Bernard.
Daley, Thomas F.
Deeley, Peter.
Demjisey, James.
Dennis, lilatthew.
Devlin, Eliza.
Devlin, William.
Doherty, George.
Dolan, Andrew.
Donnelly, Catherine.
Donnelly, Edward.
Doon.an, Philip.
Doran, Michael.
Dowling, Tliomas.
Doyle, James.
Doyle, Martin.
Doyle, Michael.
Drumm, Peter.
Dunn, Michael.
Dunn, Thomas.
Dunne, James.
Dwyer, Dennis. "
Eagan, Peter, Jr.
Early, Catharine, Mrs.
Eagan, James.
Ellard, George.
Facey, Margaret.
Fay, Andrew.
Feeney, John.
Ferrigan, fane.
Finley, John.
Fitzgibbon, Gerald.
Fitzpatrick, Patrick.
Flemming, Wilhani.
Flynn, James.
Flynn, Mich.iel.
Ford, Mary.
Foster, Bridget, Mrs.
G.artlan, Hugh M.
Gilson, Julia.
Gordon, Henry.
Gormley, Michael.
Hall, Catherine.
Hall, Robert.
Hal]iiii, I*eter.
Hanlon, Bernard.
Ilanly, Daniel.
Hart, Christina, Mrs.
Hayes, Dennis.
Hayes, Jeremiah.
Higgins, Mary.
Hughes, Edward.
Hughes, Patrick H.
Hurley, Ann.
Jackson, Rosanna.
Johnson, Thomas.
Keating, ICliz.abelh, Mrs.
Keenan, Patrick.
Kelly, James.
Kelly, Thomas.
Kenney, Michael.
Kevlin, Henry.
Kilday, Edward.
Kirk, Thomas.
Kirwin, Honora.
Kress, William.
Lally, Thomas.
Lamb, Patrick.
Lamont, Peter.
Leacy, John.
Le.ahy, John.
Leddy, Michael.
Lennon, Dennis.
Levins, Peter.
Limbeck, Jolin.
Livingston, Mary, Mrs.
McAlhatan, I'.ernard F.
McAtamney, James.
McAuley, Thomas.
McAuliffe, Mary, Mrs.
McCaffrey, Edwaril.
McCann, John.
McCann, I'atrick.
McCann, 'i'homas.
McCarthy, John.
McCarthy, Mary, Mrs.
McCauley, Thomas.
McClernan, A. J., Mrs.
McConville, C. M.
McCormick, Catharine, Mrs.
McCrossan, Patrick.
McCue, P. J.
McGovern, James.
McGrath, Dennis J.
McGuire, Francis.
McGuire, James H.
McGuire, William B.
Mclnerny, Patrick.
McKeevcr, William.
McKenna, Ellen.
McVey, William.
Mackintosh, J.
Maguire, Catharine.
Mahon, James.
Mahoney, Daniel.
Mahoncy, Dennis.
Mahoney, John.
Maloney, (Jwen.
Masterson, P.
Miner, Jane, Mrs.
Monaghan, Matthew.
Monks, John.
Moore, Patrick H.
Moynih.an, Edward.
Mulcown, Robert.
Mulgrew, Felix A.
Mullen, Mary, Mrs.
Mulligan, Margaret, Mrs.
Midligan, Michael.
Mundy, Neil.
Murphy, Daniel.
Murphy, F. W.
Murphy, Margaret, Mrs.
Murphy, Michael.
Nash, Thomas.
Nugent, Kliza.
Nugent, Tliomas A.
O'Brien, Edward.
O'Brien, M.
O'Connell, Adelia.
O'Connor, Mary, Mrs.
O'Connor, P.
O'Keefe, Kiernan.
O'Leary, Patrick.
O'Meara, James.
O'.Neil, Bridget, Mrs.
O'Neil, Patrick.
O'Neill, P. H.
O'Reilly, Annie.
Pelmer, Richard.
Plumridge, Edwartl.
Powers, Maurice.
Purtell, James.
Ratigan, Thomas.
Rattigan, Michael.
Reartion, John.
Reilly, Patrick.
Reynolds, Thomas J.
Rigney, James.
Riley, Tliomas. -
Ripple, H. T.
Rogan, I'etcr.
Rogeis, James.
Russell, James L.
Sexton, Bernard.
Sheil, John.
Shorlill, Bridget, Mrs.
Skelly, Michael.
Skiftington, Terence.
Smith, N.
.Stanley, Kate.
Stapleton, I lanicl.
Star, Francis.
Sullivan, Mauiice.
Sweeney, Ann.
Turpen, John.
Tracey, Eliza.
Turner, Isabella.
Vaughan, John.
Ward, Annie.
While, Frank.
CHURCH OF ST. BRIDGET. 2^,")
REV. PATRICK FRANCIS McSWEENY,
PASTOR OP ST. BRIDGET'S CHURCH.
THE \\ev. Dr. Patrick Francis McSweeny, the ])res-
ent jiastor of St. Bridget's, was Loni in Ireland,
July 9th, 1838. He came to America with his parents
in April, 1849, in the eleventh year of his age. He
was educated j)rinci})ally at the Jesuit College in Six-
teenth Street, New York. In October, 1850, he entered
the College of the Propaganda, in Rome. Diu-ing his
stay in that world-renowned institution he was created
Doctor of Philosophy in 1858, and Doctor of Divinity in
1862. Having been ordained priest on June 14th of
the last named • year, he retm-ned to New York, and was
appomted by the late Archbishop Hughes to the assistant
pastorship of St. Joseph's. In July of the following year
he was transferred to the Cathedral. Here he remained
till January, 1870, when he was sent as pastor to Peekskill,
New York. In January, 1871, he was appointed pastor
of St. Peter's, Poughkeepsie. There he divided his large
parish, and fomided the present St. Mary's j^arish, liaving
purchased the new church from the Universalists. He
Ijuilt a spacious pastoral residence, enlarged the convent,
;ind repaired and improved St. Peter's Church, \\ith()ut
234 CATHOLIC GHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
inciuTing any debts there. In 1872, he succeeded in
placing the large Catholic schools of Poughkeepsie under
the Public Board of Education in such a manner as to
secure their maintenance from the public funds and their
greater efficiency in the secular branches of education,
while rather increasing than diminishing the advantages
previously enjoyed in a religious point of view, and this
without running counter in the least to the laws of the
State or the principle of undenominational education in
schools supported by the puldic taxes.
In the actual position of the school question in
America, every expedient that seems to offer a means of
putting an end to the wicked and inhmnan injustice
that taxes a lai-ge portion of the community for an ini-
religious system of schools, when in conscience they
cannot avail themselves of any but a system in which
religion holds a part in forming the mind and heart of
the young, is worth being tested.
Catholics, so long as they believe in God and eter-
nity, can never accept the present schools as they stand.
Yet as a body they are powerless to effect any radical
change, and meanwhile have to expend millions of dol-
lars in affording an education for Avhich the State taxes
them ; but, instead of an egg, tenders the child a serpent.
In November, 1877, the Rev. Dr. McSween}^ was
appointed to his present position ; his assistants being, in
1878, the Rev. Hugh McCabe and the Rev. J. BjTon.
CHURCH OF SAINT CECIIJA.
SECOND AVENUE AND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH STREET.
TJIE Alost Reverend Arcliljisliop McCloskey, as
early as tlie year 1863, in view of the increas-
ing Catholic jwpiilation in that part of Ncav York Island,
purchased for twenty-one thousand dollars a piece of
property, on the north-east corner <tf Second Avenue and
One Hundred and Fifth Street, sufficient for the erection
of a suitable church, with a pastoral residence and the
schools which in time Avould gather around the sacred
edifice.
For some years, however, the condition of the country
made any further attempt unwise; but in 1873 the Most
Reverend Archbishop deemed that the time had come to
afford the Catholics In that })art the advantages of a
cluu'ch. He confided the task of organizing the ])arish
and erecting the new church to a jiriest who had, as first
assistant at St. Teresa's, won the respect and attention
of that cono-reffation.
Placing his new parish under the patronage of St.
Cecilia, the Rev. Hugh Flattery jiroceeded to the work of
organization : and in May he began the erection of a
cnuRCir OF st. cecilia. 2:57
tcniporai-y cliaijel in wliicli lie could offer the Holy Sacri-
fice and preach the word of God till the circumstances of
the congregation justified the great work of erecting the
grand church projected by their piety and hope.
By the energy of the pastor, this commodious though
temporary structure was soon completed, and on the 2()th
of August, 1873, the Most Reverend Archbishop dedicated
it with the usual ceremonies, and the new church of St.
Cecilia took its place among the Catholic shrines of New
York Island.
At the first mass, then offered with due pomp and
majesty, a sermon was ])reached by the Rev. John Lan-
caster Spalding, then in the diocese, now Bishop of
Peoria. At the vesper service, which closed the day, the
Rev. Dr. McGlynn delivered an eloquent discourse.
The early virgin saints and martyrs, revered for ages
in all countries of the Catholic world, should not T)e
strangers to the thought, the heart, or the devotion of
our people. St. Cecilia is one of those whom our Holy
Mother, the Church, has from age to age conmiemorated
in the canon of the luass and invoked in her litany —
one of those whom she everywhere and always commends
to us as patrons.
She was of a patrician family at Rome, devoted to
the service of God, consecrating her virginity to Him,
and ever engaged in singing psalms and hymns and
holy canticles in honor of her divine spouse. When
238 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
forced by liei' parents to wed the young jjatrician Va-
lerian, she gained him and his brother TiLurtius to the
faith, so that when the sword of persecution was un-
slieathed, they died, in 230, with her, blessed martyrs of
Jesus Christ. The body of St. Cecilia was interred l)y
Pope Urban in the cemetery of St. Calixtus, and a
climxh dedicated to her was the scene of a council
more than thirteen lumdi-ed years ago. Iler body, still
entire, was found by Pope Paschal I., in 821, and trans-
lated to the Chiu-ch of St. Cecilia in Trastevere. Here it
Avas found incorrupt in 1599. " She lay clothed in her
robes of golden tissue, on which were still visible the
glorious stains of her blood, and at her feet were the
linen cloths mentioned by Pope Paschal and his biog-
rajjher. Lying on her right side, with her arms extended
in front of her body, slie looked like one in a deep
sleep. Her head, in a singularly touching manner, was
turned round towards the bottom of the coffin ; her
knees were slightly bent and dra^vn together. The body
was perfectly incoriiipt, and by a special miracle re-
tained, after more than thirteen hundred years, all its
grace and modesty, and recalled with the most truthful
exactness, Cecilia breathing forth her soul on the pave-
ment of her bath. A more signal \dndication of the
Chiirch's traditions, a more consoling spectacle for a de-
vout Catholic, it would be difficult to conceive."
A magnificent altar was reared above her tomb by
CHURCH OF ST. CECILIA. 239
Cardinal Sfondrati, and beneath it he placed a statue by
Maderna, representing the martyr exactly as she was
found.
Such is the glorious Saint, ])atroness of ecclesiastical
music, whom our city honors, with St. Agnes, the Holy
Innocents, tlie martyred Apostles, and Precm'sor of our
Lord, his lirst witness Stephen, and the apostle bisliops
of Gennany and Poland.
The present church is a tasteful frame chapel front-
ing on One Hundred and Fifth Street. With the altar
and necessary fiu-niture and ornaments, the church cost
about ten thousand dollars. The vestments are extremely
fine, and have all been purchased, except one set, the
gift of a pious lady.
' The whole cost has been paid by the untiring ex-
ertions of the pastor, so that the church is entirely free
from debt. Tlie congregation is as yet small, scattered,
and by no means blessed with wealth. To accomplish what
has already been done, the reverend pastor appealed, and
not in vain, to his j^ersonal friends in vai'ioiis parts.
The chm-cli has not yet been begun. When the
congi-egation seems to demand it, the corner-stone of a
more enduring temple will be laid, and a structure reared
facing Second Avenue which will vie with any in oiu-
city.
240
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOUK.
Roll of Honor
CHURCH OF ST. CECILIA.
Barry, David.
Doyle, James.
Duggan, Jiilin.
Eggleston, ^Villiam.
Farrell, John D.
Fegan, Edward.
Fogarty, K.., Mrs.
Foy, John.
Gallagher, Daniel.
Ganby, Bernard.
Gibbins, Hugh.
Gormley, Bernard.
Hanlon, John.
Kean, M. Mrs.
McCann, Patrick.
McCorniick, Michael.
McGowan, P.
McKeon, Charlotte, Mrs.
Macy, Margaret Jane.
Maguire, Charles K.
Maney, Lawrence.
Minnock, Thomas.
Murphy, Francis.
Murtaugli, Garret.
Norton, John.
O'Mara, Thomas.
Prunty, Andrew.
Reilly, John.
Shefflin, Daniel.
Waters, Mark.
ClILKCII OF m\ CECILIA. 241
THE REV. HUGH flatteuy,
rASTOK OF «T. C1X;ILIA"S CHIJKCH.
THE Ivuv. Huj;li Flnttery, who lias ivarcd a cIiuitIi
ill liuuur of the virg-iu martyr St. C'cfiHa, near
the shore oi the East River at ()ne Hundred and Fifth
Street, is a native of Ireland — born, educated, and ordained
amid all the hallowed associations coimected with every
quarter of the island.
He was born in Ballinasloe, County Galwa}", in
1838, though his parents, Hugh Molloy Flattery and
Catharine Duhan, were both natives of Kings County.
His father dying while he was yet a child, his mother
removed to Dublin, and Hugh received his early edu-
cation in the metropolis of Ireland. Proceeding to Rome
in 1853, he pursued his theological studies in the center
of Catholicity. Having completed his ct)urse l)efore the
canonical age when he could be raised to the i)riest-
hood, he ap})lied himself during the ])eriod thus left him
to the thorougli study of philosophy, and Avas graduatetl
in that science in 185LI. In the following year he was
ordained priest 1j}' the late Cardinal Patrizi, and cele-
brated his first mass in the basilica of St. Bartholomew,
erected on the site of an ancient temple of ^Esculapius.
Retm-ning to Ireland, he entered on the duties of
16
242 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOEK.
the ministry at Adair, the seat of the Earl of Duuraven,
and at St. John's Cathedral, Limerick.
About twelve years ago he voluntarily joined the
Diocese of New York, gi'S'ing his services to the Most
Reverend Archbishop.
His first missionary labors were discharged in the
parish of St. Teresa, the Most Reverend Ar-chbishop hav-
ing confided to liim the position of assistant at that
chiu^ch.
The sterling qualities eA'ineed in this position in-
duced his superioi's, in May, 1873, to call him to the field
in A^'hich he is now laboring. It was no sliglit tribute
to his merit that the congregation showed the utmost
reluctance to \r,\rt ^^ith him. They would not let him
depart without a substantial token of their respect and
regard. The men of the congi-egation subscribed a pm-se
of three thousand doUai's, which they presented to. liim
with a suitable address ; and the ladies of St. Teresa,
no less appreciative, resolved to show their esteem for
his priestly qualities and unremitting labors. Their ad-
dress breathes tliis in every line, and the subscriptions
among them amounted to a thousand dollars.
In his new parish he has been equally successful
in winning the good will of his flock. He has paid the
whole cost of his church, a heavy assessment of five
thousand dollars, and reduced greatly the mortgage on
the property.
CHURCH OF SAINT COLUMBA
WEST TWENTY-FIFTH STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT COLUMBA.
WEST TWENTY-FIFTH STKEET.
WHEN the first steps Avere taken to fin-ni the
coiigTegatiuu of 8t. Joseph's Cliurch, Green-
wich Village lay like a hamlet a])art fniin the Ijusy and
settled portion of the Cit}' of New York, l)nt in twenty
years dwellings grew np to and far beyond it, so
that the Catholics as far np as Twenty-fifth Street, in
what was then known as Chelsea, began to consider
whether they conld not erect a chnrch that Avoidd be
convenient to them and others of their faith avIio conld
then be fonnd still fnrther north.
The project did not seem prematnre to the Rt. liev.
Bishop Hughes. He confided the task of gathering the
faithful of that part of the island and organizing a con-
gregation, to a brilliant and eloquent Irish ])riest, then
but a few months in his diocese, the Rev. Patrick Jo-
seph Bourke. This clergyman roused the religious en-
thusiasm of his Catholic countrymen in the district
allotted to him across the island from Fourteenth to
Forty-second Street; and having fi)und lots adapted to
his purpose on Twenty-fifth Street near Ninth Avenue,
purchased them and laid the corner-stone of a church.
CHTTRCH OF ST. COLUMBA. 245
to wliicli l^isliop TTnylios, fvoui liis devotion to one of
the greiitest luuiies in the Irisli cahiiuhn-, wished to as-
sio-n the name of 8t. (Johimba.
"i'liat lioly man, the third in the wonder-working
Triad of Irisli saints, whose relies rest at Down, was
horn at Gortan, in the County Tyrconnel, in o'Jl, of
a nolilc fivniily, and was trained to virtues avid sacred
Icai-nino- })y St. Finiaii. He founded the Alibey of Dur-
rogh and a hundred others in Ireland and Scotland,
having draA\n up for their government a rule liased on
that of the Elastern monks. His zeal having oftended
King Derinot, the saint crossed over to the neighboring
island, where he converted the northern Picts and High-
landers, and, establishing a monastery on the island of
lona, made it the holy island of Scotland.
Trained in his austere school, with the example of
his virtues, miracles, and prophecy, his disciples became
a community of saints, and kings claimed the right of
being interred on so holy a sjiot. St. Columba, after a
life of missionary labor and monastic austerity, foretold
the time of his death, and rising early proceeded to the
chapel, where he received the viaticum kneeling before
the altar, and slept sweetly in our Lord on the !)th of
June, 5117. His relics were subsequently translated to
Ireland, and enshrined at Down, with those of St. Brid-
get and St. Patrick.
It was under the patronage of this great saint that
246 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
the new cluircli was to be built. The Rev. Mr. Bourke
first gathered his httle flock in an old frame building- on
the south side of Twenty-seventh Street, between Eighth
and Ninth Avenues, where a livery stable now stands.
The floor between the stories was cut away, but the
place was too small for the congregation. He then ob-
tained possession of a boat-hoixse on Eighth Avenue and
Twenty-fourth Street, and by making openings in the
sides, to accommodate those who could not find place
within, enabled his parishioners to fulfill the obligation of
hearing mass.
The foundations were soon laid, so that the dimen-
sions of the church could be seen, and on Thiirsday,
May 22, 1845, the corner-stone was laid by Rt. Rev.
Bishop Hughes, who prefaced the ceremony Ijy an ap-
propriate address to the large audience assembled on the
occasion, and which luimbered several thousands.
The projected church was to be a plain but solid
structure, sixty feet by ninety-four, indulging in no ex-
travagance of architectural detail within or Avithout. The
work was prosecuted rapidly, and on the 12th of Octo-
ber, 1845, it was made ready for a solemn dedication to
Almight}' God.
Bishops and priests began to arrive, and though the
day was wet and stormy, not only the pews, which
could seat twelve hvmdi-ed and fifty persons, but even
the aisles were filled before the hour fixed for the cere-
CIII'RCII OF ST. COLU:\[BA. 247
mony of the day. At lialf-jjast ten the procession issued
from the sacristy. The cross was borne aloft between two
acolytes, with lighted candles, followed by the master of
ceremonies leading the way for the officiating prelate,
now his Eminence Cardinal IMcCloskey, then Coadjutor
Bishop of New York. He was supported on the right
by the Rev. Mr. Bourke, and on the left In" the Rev.
John Smith of St. James' Church. At the church door
the chant of the Miserere rose as the bishop pronounced
the blessing and the dedicatory prayer. Then sprinkling
the walls, the procession returned to the sanctuary, singing
the Litany of the Saints. The altar was solemnly devoted
to its holy purpose, iinder the invocation of St. Columba,
and was beautifully adorned.
A Solemn High Mass was then offered by the Rev.
Mr. Bourke, with the Rev. Messrs. Smith and Stokes as
deacon and subdeacon. After the gosjiel the Rt. Rev.
Bishoj) Hughes ascended to the altar, and read his text
from the first chapter of the prophet Malachy. The
words of the prophecy declare to the Jews the coming
of a time wlien God should cease to accept the sacri-
fices they then offered, but when to his name should come
up an oblation from Gentiles and from Jews, from the
rising to the setting of the sun. " The present occa-
sion," said the learned divine, "brings the prophecy to
oiu' minds — the dedication of a temple to God, one
Avhich has risen up as if l)y magic. Tliat ceremony is
248
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
apparently one of sinijjlr import, tlie dedication of the
mere material substance, but tlie prayer and praise which
arise within these walls are not merely foi- the consecra-
tion of these insensilile materials, but for the consecra-
tion to God of the hearts that are now assembled, and
shall continue to assemble here.
" But it is not from the simple dedication tliat tlie
church derives its importance. It is prophesied that the time
should come when the Jewish sacrifice should cease, and
a clean sacrifice be offered while liumltle pra^'er ascended
from pure hearts. It is for this jiurpose that the (Jliurch
of Jesus Christ erects her temples. It may l>c truly said
that the whole universe is a fitting temple for Almighty
God. God is not restricted within walls, l)ut Jesus
Clnist, through His Church, has taught us that there is
a worship which has built tt'Uiides in every land in the
world, and Avill continue to build its temples wliilc time
endures.
" Here you will hold communion with God, and He
with you ; and those whom God has put here will speak
to yon in the name of the Clnn-ch of Jesus Christ."
The sacred orator then proved the necessity of con-
tinually repeated sacrifice in the Christian Church, from
the fact that sacrifice alone was the most perfect and
complete recognition of the divine sui)remacy, and tJiat if
the new^ dispensation did not possess this mode of recog-
nition, it would be inferior to the old Mosaic institution.
rilTTRriT OF ST. COLllMRA. 249
Whilst in the i)rinciples of Catliolics there was a perpetually
continued sacrifice, there was still no variation, no plu-
ralit}' of sacrifices, as in the Mosaic law; nnich less was
there any siibstantial difference between the sacrifice of
this day and the sacrifice of Calvary. " For at all times
the victim (Christ) beino- the same, and the priest (Christ)
the same, the sacrifice unist be the same. The victim,
the same Christ, no^v impassiljle, is always the victim,
nono other in the doctrine of the Church ; and although
there may be many ministering priests, there is still but
the one High Priest, who ' remains a jn'iest forever, ac-
cording to the order of Melchisedec' Of all tlie doc-
trines revealed in the New Testament, there is none so
clearly expressed and so full of comfort as that of the
Real Presence. Jesus instituted this sacrifice as tJie last
mark of his divine love, that He might never be absent,
but always present with us.
" Let us then, beloved brethren, properly regard the
privileges we enjoy. Let no thought, no action escape us
that shall do dishonor to the doctrines we profess. Let us
render our temple more worthy by our lives, by following
in the footsteps of our blessed Saviour. If we do this,
wc si mil soon arrive where outward sacrifices shall cease
to be necessary, and we shall sit at the right hand of our
Father, and the mantle of his love shall be forever spread
us."
At the close of the mass, the Bishoj) gave his
250 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OP NEW YORK.
benediction, and as the exquisite miisic died away, the
procession of bishops, pi'iests and clerics moved from the
sanctuary.
The new church was very neatly fitted up, with a
simple but beautiful altar and tabernacle. The congre-
gation was soon numerous, and the eloquence of the
pastor di-ew crowds from all parts of the city, especially
when he preached, as he occasionally did, in Irish.
But he was not fitted for the management of financial
aff"airs, and his confidence was abused, so that St. Col-
umba's was soon almost hojjelessly involved, and after a
pastorship of only nine months, the Rev. Mr. Bourke
withdrew and returned to Europe. He was assisted
during his brief 2:)astorsliip by the Rev. P. Bradley.
In 1846, the Bishop committed the care of the
church to the Rev. Michael McAleei', who has continued
to be its pastor to the present day. Introducing order
and system into every department, he soon reduced the
debt, which exceeded the real value of the chm-ch, and
at last completely cleared it off". Wlien relieved from
the bm-den he proceeded to remodel the cluirch ; the
increased congregation required more accommodation. He
provided new pews, put up large galleries to seat sev-
eral hundi'ed, erected a new and far finer altar, and
added a suitable vestry.
But though the chiu'ch was thus fitted up for the
sei'vice of God, the education of the young was an im-
CHURCH OF ST. COLUMBA. 251
jDerious want, A site was piircliased, in 1854, for the
purpose of erecting- a parochial school, which was com-
pleted in 185G. The boys' department was placed under
the Brotliers of the Christian Schools, Avho in 1878 num-
bered two hundred juipils ; while the Sisters of Charity,
tvho have for twelve years guided the girls of the par-
ish in the way of knowledge and piety, have five hun-
dred and fifty under their care, as well as a hundred
of the younger boys.
To afi^ord a higher course of education for young-
ladies whose parents could afford to pay for the advan-
tages afforded by an academy, the Sisters of Charity
opened in 186G the Academy of St. Angela, in Twenty-
second Street, where they have fifty pupils.
There are many societies connected with the church —
the Society of the Living Rosary ; the Sodality of the
Sacred Heart, for the }"Oung men; the Childi-en of Mary,
for the young ladies; the Conference of St. Vincent de
Paul, for work among the poor; St. Columba's Childi-en's
Aid Society, for the benefit of abandoned and destitute
children ; a Temperance Society ; the St. Columbkille So-
ciety, and tlie Young Men's Library Association.
252
CATUOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR
CHURCH OF ST. COLUMIiA.
Aspell, Catharine, Mrs.
Finney, Miss.
McConnon, Patrick.
Barker, Jame.s.
Fitzgerald, James.
McCue, Mary, Mrs.
Beatty, Edward.
Fitzpatrick, Bernard.
McDermott, Peter.
Boylan, Frank.
Flanagan, James.
McDonald, Joseph.
Brophy, John.
Flood, John.
McKay, Kate.
Buchanan, James.
Foley, John.
McMaho:i, James,
Byrne, Michael.
Foley, Katie, Miss.
McStay, Francis.
Caine, Michael.
Fox, Patrick J.
Malone, Philip.
Callaghan, Cornelius.
Fuller, William,
May, ^\'illiam.
Campbell, James.
Gallaghan, Michael.
Moore, Miss.
Campbell, Patrick.
Galnar, John.
Morris, John.
Churchill, Michael.
Gamfell, James.
Morton, Mrs.
Clifford, Dennis.
Gibbons, Mary A.
O'Connor, William.
Comerford, James.
Gomien, Miss.
O'Donnell, John.
Cooney, Henry.
Grant, John Oscar.
Ogilvie, James.
Cooney, Thomas.
Handy, John.
O'Gorman, Richard.
Conroy, Matthew.
Hannon, J. D.
Quinn, Daniel.
Cullin, Richard.
Heaney, Jane.
Quinn, Patrick J.
Curley, Patrick.
Hendricks, Edward.
Quinn, John H.
Daley, James.
Higgins, Hugh.
Reilly, Christopher.
Daly, Ellen, Mrs.
Home, Maria, Mrs.
Reilly, Francis J.
Donnelly, Edward J.
Houlihan, Michael.
Reilly, James.
Donnelly, James, Mrs.
Hughes, Francis.
Reynolds, John.
DutTy, James H.
Irwin, Henry.
Riger, Jacob.
Duffy, John.
Irwin, John.
Schmidt, C. A.
Dunn, Patrick.
Judge, Nicholas.
Skehan, James.
Egan, Bridget, Mrs.
Kennedy, John, Mrs.
Smith, James.
Egan, Joseph.
Kennedy, Nicholas.
Toner, James.
Faley, James.
Lawlor, Jolin.
Toy, Jnlin.
Farrell, Andrew F.
Leary, Andrew.
Walsh, John.
Farrell, John, Mrs.
Logan, Thomas.
Walsh, Michael.
Felhen, James.
McAleenan, Henry.
White, John J.
CHURCH OF ST. CULUMLA. 2r)3
K K \" . 31 1 (J II A E L M ( A L K l] V, ,
PASTOR OF ST. COLUMBA'S CIIUKCII.
TlIK \t'iRTiil)k' pustor of the Cliurc-li of Columbkille
is proljal)!}' the oldest priest in the City of New
York ill years and ordination. He is a native of the
County Tyrone, Ireland, where he first saw the lii^lit in
the year 1811. Before he passed the years of bo}liood
his family emigrated to America and settled at Frederick,
Maryland. As lie evinced a taste for stud)', his parents,
after he had mastered the rudiments in the scliool of the
place, made every sacrifice to place him at IMount St.
Mary's College, Emmettsburg, which he entered in the
year 1828. After being gi-aduated, his jiiety and love
for the house of God led him to seek entrance among
those who were preparing for the holy order of priest-
hood. Dr. Purcell, then president of that venerable in-
stitution, welcomed him warmly, and pursuing his course
with many who became famous in the cliurch — one as
the first American cardinal, another as Bisliop of Chicago,
another as Bishop of Brooklyn — he was ordained in 1837.
When the Rev. 3Ir. Purcell was promoted to the
See of Cincinnati, he urged the young priest, whose learn-
ing, piety, and spirit of discipline lie luul noted, to ac-
company him to the West. After spending tlu'ee years
254 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of labor in the Diocese of Cincinnati, in Canton, Carroll
County, he was touclied by an appeal of the Rt. Rev. Dr.
Miles, Bishop of Nashville, for missionaries, and at once
responded to the call, well aware of the difficulty and
hardship of the field. Bishop Purcell, though loth to
part with a good, active, and zealous priest, finally con-
sented, and Rev. Mr. McAleer went to Tennessee. There
he and the Rev. John Maguire were appointed to travel
together throughout the diocese, to preach in every town
not already provided with a pastor, and to administer
the holy sacraments to all who might apply to them. lie
was thus the first priest in our times to say mass or
erect a church in Western Tennessee. He was at one
time accompanied by the late Archbishop Spalding, then
a missionary pnest in Kentucky. Their discourses, pop-
idar in style, full of solid and convincing argument,
produced a decided impression on the clear Western minds,
and prepared the way for future chm-ches. Rev. Mr. Mc-
Aleer soon erected a beautiful brick chiu'ch at Memphis,
of Avhicli he became the 2:)astor, attending stations at a
gi'eat distance — Fort Pickering, La Grange, Bolivar, Jack-
son, and other points. Here, after some years, he Avas
assisted by a Dominican Father, Thomas S. Alemany,
now Archbishop of San Francisco.
His reputation for learning had not been lost in this
hard missionary work, and in 1846 he was selected by
the Rt. Rev. Matthias Loras, Bishop of Dubuque, as liis
CHUECH OF S'l\ COLUMBA. 255
tlieologiiui, to accompany him to the Sixth Provincial
Council of lialtimore, and he attended the sessions of that
venerable body in that cajDacity.
At its close he was received by Ai'chbishop Hughes
into his diocese, and assigned to the Church of 8t.
Columba, then sadly in need of a priest a\1io could save
it from threatened ruin. As we have seen, he cleared it
of a load of debt that would have appalled most men ;
remodeled the clmrch edifice, rendering it more attractive
to his peojjle and more worthy of the dignity of our
incomparable litin-gy ; organized the schools for the Chris-
tian education of the young, and has successfully labored
to keep alive a spirit of faith and devotion.
His zeal was shown in a remarkable manner diu'ing
the terrible cholera season of 1849. His parish was
especially afflicted by the fatal disease, and for weeks
the devoted priest slept only on a sofa in the parlor,
with his liorse and wagon standing all night before his
door, ready to carry him to any point of Ids district
where a stricken Catholic claimed the consolations of
religion. He was upheld almost supernatm-ally, facing
the heat by day and want of sleep at night, in his
faithful and untii'ing discharge of his duties. It is easy
to conceive with what respect his flock regarded his
devotion and courage.
As he advanced in age, he was attacked by pneu-
monia, which several times tlu*eatened to end his life,
256 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEAV YORK.
or, at least, his usefulness, but he recovered completely,
and still, in his sixty-eighth year, is discharging his paro-
chial duties witli all the zeal of forty years ago.
The rapid increase of popidation in that part of the
city has made his duties as onerous as ever; for, though
parishes have been formed in the district originally as-
signed to St. Colundia's, the flock under his charge is
greater than it ^vas on the day of his appointment.
During his long pastoi'ate. Rev. Mr. McAleer has had
several assistants — Rev. Francis Monaghan of the Diocese
of Armagh (1846-8); Rev. James Cmnnnskey ; Rev.
Terence Scallan, who after several }'ears' labor in city
missions became pastor at Haverstraw ; . Jiav. Titus Joslin,
a convert and author ; Rev. William H. Neligan, once a
Protestant clergyman in Ireland and England, who em-
braced the fixith he had before earnestly opposed, and
Avhose pen has enriched our literature with many learned
and devotional works ; Rev. H. O'Hara ; Rev. James T.
Barry, and Rev. A. Molloy. The j^^'^sent assistants of
the venerable pastor are the Rev. George C. IMurphy
and Rev. ]\I. Montgomery.
CHURCH OF ST. CYRHXUS AND ST.
METHODIUS.
(BOHEMIAN.)
EAST FOURTH STREET.
NEW YORK, in one respect, recalls Jerusalem on
the day of Pentecost; it lias among- its Catho-
lic po])ulation "devout men out of every nation under
heaven." To all these, each Catholic church is a liome.
The land, and the manners of the people, tlie stir and
bu.stle of business, the rapid moving- of c-nr and boat
under tlie mighty impulse of steam, may all be strange;
but before the altar of God, when the Hoh' .Sacritice of tlie
]Mass is offered, or the 8acred Office is sung, or om- Lord
from the monstrance pours liis blessing- upon them, the
feeling pervades their hearts that here they are at home.
Yet even with this there comes the desire which the Holy
Ghost on the day of Pentecost gratitied by a miracle —
the long-ing " to hear in their own tongue, wherein they
were born, the A^'onderful ^\-orks of God."
There were temples in our city where, during mass,
the gospel was preached in Englisli, French, German,
and Italian; but the Bohemians wished to hear the words
of salvation in their own language. In December, 1874,
17
258 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
they organized two religious societies — that of St. Wen-
ceslaus and that of St. Ludmila. Thus brought to-
gether, they found a priest of their nationaHty wilhng
to devote himself especially to them.
This his Grace the Ai-chbishop readily permitted,
and the late Rev. Father Krebesz of St. Nicholas gener-
ously placed the basement of that church at their disposal.
A few months encom-aged the pastor and his little flock
to endeavor to secure a place especially for theii- own
use. Such was the zeal and regularity shown by tlie
Bohemians, that in March, 1875, the property 316 East
Fourth Street, between Avenues C and D, was purchased
for the sum of twelve thousand five hundred dollars, and
blessed for use as a Catholic church under the invoca-
tion of St. Cyi'illus and St. Methodius.
These two holy brothers — brothers according to the
flesh and in spiritual life and missionary labors — were
born at Thessalonica, of an illustrious senatorial family,
and are regarded as the apostles of Bohemia, Moravia,
Silesia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Russia, and almost
all Slavonic nations, for whom they translated the liturgy
into their own language. Borgias, King of the Bulgari-
ans, Borivoj, Duke of Bohemia, and other princes of
those parts, were won by them to the faith and love
of Christ. Methodius was made by the Pope Archbishop
of Moravia, but Cyi'il remained a simple monk. They
died about the year 900, and their bodies were laid with
CHURCir OF ST. CYRILLUS AND ST. METHODIUS. O^O
honor under the altar of a very ancient chapel in St.
Clement's Church at Rome, as if to attest that the coun-
tries where war has recently rag-ed were converted by
missionaries from the Roman See. These saints set up
at Bimzlaii a statue of the Blessed Virgin, which was
for centuries afterwards a place of pilgrimage, and was
visited hy St. John Nepomucene just before his mar-
tyrdom.
Soon after the modest church of these apostles of
Eastern Eiu-ope was ojiened, the Rev. George Weidlich,
who had done so good a work, found that his health
was too much broken to attempt to minister to the little
flock he had gathered.
The Rev. A. V. Vacula was then appointed priest of
the Bohemians, and has since successfully administered
the parish. Finding the building already too small for
the congregation, he enlarged it at a cost of six thou-
sand dollars, and thus had a commodious and more wor-
thy chiu-ch. On the 12th of December, 1875, it was
solemnly dedicated by the Very Re^-. William Quinn,
Vicar General of the diocese, who delivered a sermon in
English, and another in Bohemian was gi^en by the Rev.
A. V. Vacula. The High Mass was said by the Rev.
Father Ivo Prass, the Superior of the Capuchins in New
York, who attended with several Fathers of his com-
munity.
The pastor felt that a school was indispensable, and
2fiO CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
ill llie early i)art ot" October opened one in the basement
of his chnrch. The attendance, at first only twenty-five,
soon increased to about a hundred, and has been con-
tinued with success.
Soon after the dedication the Rev. Mr. Vacida insti-
tuted the St. Mary's Society for girls, and that of St.
Aloysius for the boys of the congregation, to associate
the }'ounger members of his flock together in pious ex-
ercises, that each should be a support to the other in
the trials and temptations that beset the rising generation
in a great city.
In May, 1877, the Society of the Knights of St, AVen-
ceslaus was originated. They attended a Solemn j\Iass on
the 28th of September, when a beautiful flag was presented
to the society 1)y the pastor, and blessed by the Rev. Mr.
Weyman of the Church of St. Stanislaus, several of the
prominent members of the congregation being sponsors for
the banner.
CHURCH OF ST. CYRILLUS AND ST. METHODIl'8. Ji;]
RKV. A . V. VACULA,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. CYRILLUS AND ST. METHODUTS.
THP^ Rev. A. \. Varula was horn at Osek, Archdio-
cese of Ohnutz, in Moravia, on the loth of Angnst,
184r), and was edncated at the gymnasium at Kremsier,
from which he entered the University of Vienna in 18G5.
After two years spent there, he resolved to embrace the
clerical state, and pursued liis theological studies for three
years in the University of Olmutz. Feeling called to de-
vote himself to the American missions, he was sent to the
American College at Louvain in 1809, and there ordained
for tlic Diocese of Baltimore, on the 10th of September,
1870, in the College of the Jesiiit Fathers at Louvain.
At the desii'e of his parents, he returned to his
native city and said his first mass in the Cluu'ch of
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and dm-ing the tem-
porarv illness of the parisli priest and his assistant, offi-
ciated for two months
He then came to this coinitry, arriving December 1,
1870. Repairing to Baltimore, he was placed by the late
Archbislio[) .Spalding in charge of a congregation, and
erected the Church of St. AVenceslaus, on Central Avenue,
262 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
above Baltimore Street, wliicli was dedicated by the late
Bishop Verot of St. Augustine, May 20th, 1872.
The Rev. Mr. Yacula ministered to this congregation
of Bohemians for about two years. He was then for a
year chaplain of the Baltimore University Hospital. After
this first exercise of the ministry in the Diocese of Balti-
more he came to New York, and was appointed to the
Chm-ch of St. Cyrillus and St. Methodius, on the 27th of
September, 1875.
His active zeal has done much to mould the little
conffresration of Bohemian CathoHcs into an earnest and
devoted body, their faith being kept alive by pious as-
sociations and the influence of the schools.
Their present prosperity, if not the origin of their
church, is due, in no small degree, to the patience and
the intelligent zeal of the clergjnnan who now fills the
responsible position of pastor in this church.
CHURCH OF SAINT ELIZABETH.
WEST ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVENTH STREET.
THE CHURCHES OF SAINT ELIZABETH AND
SAINT JOHN.
FORT WASHINGTON AND K I N G S B R I D G K .
FORT WASHINGTON recalls by its name the strug-
gle in the days of the Revolution, when Magaw's
and Shea's regiments of the Pennsyh-ania line, which num-
bered many Irish Catholics, so stubbornly held out against
an overwhelming- English force. As a part of our island
where Catholic blood flowed in the cause of American
Independence, it was well that it should be hallowed by
religious associations ; that the noblest worship ever offered
to the Almighty might there bind us witli our fellow-
believers of the days that tried men's souls.
In 1869, the Most Reverend Archbishop established
the parochial district of Fort Washington, embracing the
northern spur of the island to the other side of that stream
which still retains the name associated with the legends of
the Dutch epoch.
This district was confided to the Rev. Cornelius J.
O'Callaghan, who took the preliminary steps to gather the
Catholic population, saying mass in the public school-
houses at Fort Washington and Spuvten Duj-vil. Tlie
Catholic population was mainly in two Ijodies, somewhat
CHURCHES OF ST. ELIZABETH AND ST. JOHN. 265
widely separated, and it wiis not easy to fix np.on a
central location that woidd l)e convenient to i)otli. Diffi-
culties seemed to discovxrage the priest first assig-ned to
this mission, but in October, 1870, tlie Rev. Henry A.
Brann, D.D., whose scholarly instincts and tastes seem to
stimixlate his activity in parochial labors, and especial!}' in
that creative power often so necessary to a clergyman
who finds himself in a parish without a roof to cover his
head or shield the altar he must rear to the Most High.
He was to complete, by dedicating to the service of God
the upper end of Manhattan Island, the work begun at
the Battery by the Jesuit Fathers two centuries before.
The more pressing want seemed to be in the portion
of his district near Kingsbridge, and to this point he
gave his first care. He enlarged by purchase the site
already obtained, and at once began to erect a modest
frame church, which was speedily completed, at a cost of
about ten thousand dollars, and in a few months after his
arrival he could request his Grace the Most Reverend
Archbishop to honor him and his little flock by solemnly
dedicating it to the worship of the Holy Trinity. The
Archbishop, who had blessed so many fine ecclesiastical
structures, did not decline, and on the 4th of December,
1870, tlie little Church of St. John at King.sbridge was
dedicated according to the Roman ritual. The Rev. Mr.
McNeirny, now Bishop of Albany, sang the High Mass,
Manhattan College contributing to the solemnity of the oc-
266 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
casion by its band, which formed the choir. The Arch-
bishop dehvered one of his ever-happy and edifpng ser-
mons, that hnger hke a sweet memory for years, associ-
ated with the occasions on which they are pronounced.
The heavenly dove had found a nest for herself where
she mig-ht gather her yoimg ones.
Under the care of Dr. Brann a congregation of
about four hundi-ed now worship in this church, and about
thirty-six are yearly brought to the baptismal font to be
added to the flock of Christ. "
The other portion of his district would require a
chm-ch of greater size, and there were e\'idences that
means would not be withheld to give Catholicity there a
church that would not reflect on the generosity of her
children. Dr. Brann was fortunate in obtaining a spot
suitable for his purpose near the Hudson, the old Rio San
Antonio de las Montanas. On One Hundred and Eighty-
seventh Street and Broadway he laid the foundation of
the Church of St. Elizabeth. This tasteful and beautiful
edifice of brick with Ohio brown stone facings is fifty-four
feet in front by a depth of one hundred and twenty-five
feet, and is highly creditable to Mr. N. Le Brun, the
architect. The interior adornment, and the altar with its
tabernacle, are pure in taste, and inspire the devotional
feeling befittnig a sacred edifice.
The Most Rev. Dr. McCloskey again honored the
parish of Fort Wasliington by coming, on the 14th of
CHURCHES OF ST. P^LIZABETH AND ST. JOHN. 2(;7
January, 1872, to dedicate this clnircli to St. Elizabeth.
After the water, blessed with holy rite, had been sprink-
led on the walls, and the dedication ser^dces been per-
formed, the Et. Rev. Bishop McNeirny sang the Iliyh
Mass, the sanctuary being graced by the Rt. Rev. Bishop
Corrigan of Newark and many of the priests of the cit}-.
The Cluu-ch of St. Francis Xavier gave its choir, with
the famous Dr. William Berge as director, to honor the
new chm-ch. After the gospel, the Rt. Rev. Bernard J.
McQuaid, Bishop of Rochester, preached the dedication
sermon, riveting the attention of the faithful, who crowded
the sacred edifice.
The o-round for the Church of St. Elizabeth — a name
that recalls at once the holy mother of the Precursor of
om- Lord, and of dear St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and her
holy niece, St. Elizabeth of Portugal — was given by
Joseph Fisher and the late James Gordon Bennett. It is
eight}' feet in front by one hundred and sixty-four feet in
depth, at the corner of One Hundred and Eighty-seventh
Street and Broadway. The church found liberal benefactors.
Charles O'Conor, Esq., gave ten thousand dollars toward
the erection of the sacred edifice, James Gordon Bennett
five thousand, Joseph Fisher two thousand. The main
altar is the gift of the two daughters of ]\Ir. Fisher;
the marble altar at the side was presented by Mrs.
Paul R. G. Pery. The altar-piece, painted by May, the
American artist, after Murillo's Immaculate Conception,
268 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NP:W YORK.
was given by the present James Gordon Bennett. All
the stained-glass windows were pi-esented. That in the
sanctuary was given by Mrs. Charles M. ( 'onnolh^ : the
front Avindow, a memorial of the Rev. John -Kelly of
Jersey City, was presented by Eugene Kellv, Esq.
The church, with the rectory, cost about a hundred
thousand dollars, and is one of the most elegant on
the island — indeed, one of the few in which individiial
contributions have formed a considerable })art of the
cost.
Thus, in less than two years, the Rev. Dr. Brann
had, ill the district wliicli he found clnirchless, reared two
temples of our hoU' religion, giving the faithful all the
advantages enjoyed by other jjarts of the island. He
made his residence at 8t, Elizabeth's, visiting every Sun-
day and holiday the ( 'hurcli of 8t. John, to offer mass
there.
He then 1)uilt on the ground adjoining St. Elizabeth's
a rectory, a fine three-story l)uil(liiig with a Mansard roof,
so that for years the parisli will need no additional outlay
for church or pnrochial residence.
Since he assumed the direction of the parish. Dr. Brann
has been assisted liy the Rev. ^Ir. Lynch, now at Sau-
gerties, Rev. Francis Micene, Rev. George M. Schrader,
D.D., and the jii'^s^'it ciu-ate, the Rev. Daniel J. McCor-
mick.
The cong-reg-ation of the church does not yet exceed
CHURCHES OF 81'. KIJZARETH AM) ST. JOHX. 2H!I
six hundred, but St. Elizabeth will stand for }-ears and
see its aisles crowded to excess. The baptisms number
annually about thirty-six.
The parish is not Avithout those pious and beiieiicent
societies which meet what seems to be a general want;
and wIk'U not gratitied in the Church, leave many ex-
posed t(i be drawn into bodies whose fonn or object is
subject to ecclesiastical censure.
Tlie societies attached to the Churches of 8t, Eliza-
beth and St. John are the Confraternity of the Sacred
Heart, the Rosary Societ}-, and Temperance Societies.
The Sunday-schools are well sustained and number more
than three hundred and iifty pupils.
The future of New York City, no one, of course,
can foresee. Some incline to tliink that she has reached
the highest point of greatness, and may decline. Others
see nothing to check the career of progress in Avhich
she has moved for so many years.
Catholicity has more tluvn grown with her growth.
The Christian body which a century ago had no priest,
no altar, no church, no organized congregation, has her
sacred edifices dotting the island from Barclay Street to
Kingsbridge. A dense population may yet gather in
the upper part of the island beyond the Central Park,
and the parochinl district of Fort Washington be di^dded
among a number of cluu-ches, requiring many j^riests to
fulfill the mission labor iiuannbent on the clergy.
270 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Roll of H
ONOR,
CHURCH OF ST. ELIZABETH.
Ahern, Timothy.
Donovan, James.
McGinn, Mrs.
Barry, Patrick.
Duane, Thomas.
McGrane, Mrs.
Barry, William.
Duke, Thomas.
Mclvors, S.
Bergin, L.
Ecclesine, T. C. E.
McKeon, Matthew.
Bradley, Daniel.
Fenton, Thomas.
Maloney, Joseph.
Brady, P. J.
Finn, Michael.
Maloy, John.
Britt, William.
Flynn, Ann.
Meehan, James.
Brophy, Michael.
Foley, John.
Meehan, Patrick.
Carney, Patrick.
Haynes, Daniel.
Murray, Bernard.
Carroll, Michael.
Hourigan, Timothy.
O'Conor, Charles.
Chase, Nelson, Mrs
Johnson, Mrs.
O'Hallaran, J.
Cody, James.
Kane, L.
O'Hara, Mrs.
Connelly J. S., Mrs
King, James.
Russell, James.
Connelly, Chas. M.,
Mrs. Loughrane, Michael.
Rogers, Mrs.
Corbit, John.
McCaffery, Thomas.
Scallon, Ann, Mrs.
Corkery, Daniel.
McCarthy, J.
Scallon, Bridget, Mrs.
Coughlin, P.
McCormac, Hugh.
Whelan, Mrs.
Crowley, Edward.
McDonald, Barthol.
Winters, Patrick.
Devlin, John.
McDonald, William.
CHUKCHEf OF ST. ELIZABETH AND ST. JOHN. 271
EEV. HENRY A. BRANN, D.D.,
PASTOR OF ST. ELIZABETH'S AND ST. JOHN'S.
REV. HENRY A. BRANN, D.D., the present pas-
tor of Fort Wasliington and Kingsbrldge, was
born on Augaist 15, 1837, in Parkstown, County Meatli,
Ireland. He came as a boy to this country with his
parents. His classical studies were made in St. Mary's
College, Wilmington, Delaware, and in St. Francis Xa-
vier's College, West Fifteenth Street, New York, where he
was graduated in 1857. He was originally intended for
the law ; but an accident in which he was nearly killed,
by the falling of a house in Jersey City, during a
thunder-storm, turned his mind to the more holy calling
of the priesthood. He went to the Seminary of St.
Sulpice, Paris, in the fall of 1857, where he remained
tln-ee years. He then went to the American College,
Rome, and was ordained its fii-st priest by Cardinal
Patrizzi, on June 14, 1862.
Dr. Brann, on an-iving from Rome, in August, 1862,
was appointed Vice-President of Seton Hall College, and
Professor of Dogmatic Theology in the seminary con-
nected with it. This position he held for two years.
He then became assistant in St. Mary's, and afterwards in
St. Peter's Chm'ch, Jersey City. He was appointed pas-
272 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
tin- of Fort Lee in May, 18G(J. In this parish he Ijuilt
the Cliureli of St. CeciHa, Englewood, and the Church of
the Holy Trinity, Hackensack. In August, 1867, during
tlie absence of Bishop Bayley in Euroi)e, lie came to
New York and joined the Paulist Fathers. At the m-gent
entreaty of the late Bishop Wlielan, he went to him as
Director of the Seminary and preacher of the cathedral
in Wheelinti:, where he remained for two A'ears. Return-
ing to New York, the Cardinal appointed him, in (Jcto-
her, 1870, to succeed the Rev. Cornelius O'Callaghan as
pastor of Fort Washington ;ind Kingsbridge. Besides
building churches, I)r. Brann has written many essays,
lectures, and translations published in various reviews and
magazines. He has also ^^•ritten two metaphysical works —
" Curious Questions," and " Truth and Error." A transla-
tion of the Abbe Hulot's very se^•ere book on " Danc-
ing," published by Donahoe of Boston ; and a translation
of Toepffer's pretty little novelette, called " The Inherit-
ance," published by Sadlier of New York, are among the
earliest productions of Dr. Brann's pen.
cnUKCH OF THE EPIPHANY.
Jg SECOND AVENUE.
CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD.
SECOND AVENUE.
SINCE his promotion to tlie See of New York,
his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey has hibored to
increase the number of the city chm-ches, to relieve
those already existing-, which had become overcrowded at
every mass. By reducing the size of the parochial dis-
tricts, the clergy could better attend to the wants of the
faithful, and learn to know not only those who came
spontaneously to the offices of the Church and the duties
of relis'ion, bu^t also the careless and indifferent — those
lured away by a false pride or tempted by the wretched
proselytizers who traffic in men's souls.
Carrying out this jDlan, he laid oif as a new parish
the district between Broadway and the East River, ex-
tending from the northerly side of Fourteenth Street to
the southerly side of Twenty-fourth Street. The Rev.
Dr. R. L. Burtsell asked permission to begin in this
field the mission work for which he had shown himself
eminently fitted while acting as assistant at St. Ann's
Church. He was accordingly assigned to it in 1868, and
having obtained a lease of the hall and basement of the
Demilt Dispensary, situated on the corner of Twenty-
CHURCir OF THE KPIPIIANY OF OUU L()l!l). 275
third Street and Second Avenue, fitted it up as a chapel,
and inaugurated the parish on the eve of Epiphany, Jan-
uary 5th, 1868, by celebrating High Mass.
Zealously discharging his duty to the flock here
gathered, and to whom he ministered in this temporary
chapel for two years, he. began to collect means for the
pui'chase of land and the erection of a suitable church.
Heading the list with his own subscription of one thou-
sand dollars, he found many ready to contribute to the
good Avork and loth to be outdone by him in charity.
Money flowed in so that in one year his collections
amounted to $44,545 — St. Stephen's, St. Ann's, and the
Church of the Immaculate Conception generously aiding
the good work.
In 1868 seven lots were purchased — three on Second
Avenue, for thirty-seven thousand five lumdred dollars,
and subsequently, to increase the length of the sacred
edifice, three additional lots on Twenty-second Street and
one on Twenty-first Street. The foundation was traced out
for a church to front on Second Avenue. The founda-
tion walls soon began to rise, to the joy of the people,
and every preparation was made to invest the laying of
the comer-stone with interest. On the appointed day,
May 30, 1869, the scene around the new church was
picturesque in the extreme. Flags and banners were hung
out on all sides. Crowds gathered in dense masses,
societies from many different chm'ches coming to honor
276 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
tlie occasion ; but when the procession appeared, led by
the Sodahty of the Holy Angels — a hundred young maidens
in spotless white — all was hushed; after the processional
cross and tapers came the acolytes, a numerous atten-
dance of clergy, and the mitred Archbishoj) bearing liis
crosier. In this order they moved to the platform where
the future altar was to stand. Then -w-ith Very Rev.
William Starrs, V.G., as assistant, Dr. McSweeny as
deacon, and Rev. Mr. Loughran as subdeacon, the cere-
monial began, and the circuit of the new church was
made, the chant of the ancient psalm, Quam Dilecta, re-
sponded by the attendant clergy. After the prayer Domine
Deus, the Archbishop blessed the corner-stone and recited
the collect asking God to confirm the stone thus laid in
His name. Then he sprinkled it with holy water and
traced crosses upon its surface. After the Litany of the
Saints and tlie appropriate 126th Psalm, a box containing
memorials was placed beneath the stone, including a parch-
ment thus inscribed : " Pio Nono Summo Pontifice, uni-
versam ecclesiam Dei regente, Provinciarum Foederatarum
Americse Septentrionalis Ulysse S. Grant, Prteside, Joanne
T. Hoffman Provinciae Neo Eboracensis Gubernatore;
Urbis prsefecto A. Oakey Hall ; Illmus ac Revmus Joan-
nes McCloskey, Archiepiscopus Neo Eboracensis, templi
svib invocatione Epiphanise Domini Nosti'i Jesu Christi et
jjrotectione SS. Magorum, curae pastorali Richardi L. Bm"t-
sell commissi, oratore Rev. Guglielmo Morrogh, die 30mo
CHUUCJli OF TUE Kl'li'llAW OF OUll L(MIL). 277
Maij, auspice Maria Virgine, anno salutis 18G0 primum
lapidem in fundamentum posuit."
Then the stone was laid in its place with prayer
and again sprinkled with holy water, and the procession
moved on with solemn chant.
An eloquent discom'se was then delivered by the
Rev. Dr. ]\Iorrogh, in which he noted especially the pe-
culiar and beautiful title of the Epiphany, which the
chui'ch was to bear. Then, with the blessing of the
Most Reverend Archbishop, the vast crowd retired.
The church thus auspiciously begun under the protec-
tion of the Tlu-ee Holy Kings — Gaspar, Melchior, and
Balshasar, as tradition has given their names — went
rapidly up, thi'ough the quickening zeal of the pastor.
It was to be of no mean proportions, with a front of
sixty-six feet on Second Avenue, and a corresponding depth
of one hvindi-ed and forty-five feet. The style of archi-
tecture adopted was the Lombard, which in its pm'est forms
was produced in northern Italy in the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries. It has seldom been copied in tliis coun-
tiy, but the selection justifies the taste of the clergyman.
The basement story is of Quincy granite, and the
superstructm-e of Ohio and Belleville sandstone. The
tower at the south-east angle is surmounted by a cross,
wliich is one hundred and twenty-five feet above the
l)asement. A wide flight of steps leads up gradually to
a wide porch, twelve feet deep and thirty feet long, sup-
278 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
ported upon arcade ^^iers and giving access to tlie nave.
The interior will seat sixteen hundred and fifty persons,
and accommodate comfortably two thousand. With the
usual series of masses on Sundays and holidays, all the
faithful in the parish are thus enabled to fulfill the ab-
solute obligation of hearing mass.
The architect, Mr. N. Le Brun, succeeded in combin-
ing great elegance with the reqiiirements of the parish,
making it commodious without marring its beauty, and
truly ecclesiastical in its general scope and in the more
minute details.
Nothing occurred to thwart the pious desires of the
priest and people. The Church of the Epiphany rose
like a beautiful tree, showing that with God's blessing
they had not labored in vain that built it.
The solemn dedication took place on the 3d of
April, 1870. The Very Rev. William Starrs, Vicar Gen-
eral of the diocese, officiated, assisted by the Rev. Messrs.
Burtsell, Loughran, McSweeny, McGlynn, McCarthy, Healy,
Bodfish, and others representing the clergy of the diocese.
After making the circuit of the church without, the pro-
cession, led by the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, en-
tered the main door and moved up the middle aisle,
chanting the Litany of the Saints. Again the long line
passed around the walls of tlie church within, sprinkling
and blessing it, and the celebrant concluded the cere-
monial with the prayer of dedication.
GllLUCli UF THE EPIPHA^V OF OLll J-()K1>. 279
Then the altar was adorned, and the Rev. Dr. Mc-
Glynn of St. Stephen's Churcli offered a Solemn High
Mass, with Dr. MeSweeny as deacon and the Rev. Mr.
Louglu-an of the Epiphany as subdeacon. The sermon
was preached by the Rev. Thomas S. Preston of St.
Ann's Chnrch, taking as his text the words of the Wise
Men, those sainted Kings of the East: "Where is he
that is born King of the Jews! For we have seen his
star in the east and have come to adore him." Unfold-
ing the lessons tanght by the taith and courage of these
holy pilgrims, he appealed to his hearers to make use
of the additional opportunity now held out to them to
live a Ufe of grace and walk constantly in the fear of
God; to be Catholics in fact— not in name alone, but in
pi.j.etice— and thus to do their part in stemming the tide
of infidelit}' that threatens to undermine the Clu-istian
Church, and to do all in their power to save this, the
land of their love— for whose prosperity they would will-
ingly lay down their lives— from the terrible consequences
that ensue to every nation that forgets God and spurns
His di\ane law.
The parish is still under the care of the Rev. Dr.
Burtsell, who has been assisted from time to time by
other priests, among whom may be mentioned the Rev.
P. Loughran, who was curate for about eight years.
In 1809, a parochial free school was inaugurated in
a house, 23G East Twenty-second Street, belonging to the
280 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
church. About thi-ee hundred and tliirty scholars attended.
Owing to the great expenses of the erection of the church,
the school was discontinued after a severe struggle of
three years.
Not to allow the cliildi-en's religious education to be
neglected, in September, 1873, a more thorough system
was inaugurated in regard to the Sunday-school, at which
some nine hundred childi'en had been in regular attend-
ance since the formation of the parish. For this purpose
Clu'istian doctrine classes were formed on three evenings
diuing the week, from seven to eight o'clock.
On Tuesday, the pastor gave an instruction to all
cliildi"en who had been confirmed and were over fom-teen.
On Wednesday, one of the assistant priests instructed
the girls between ten and fourteen years.
On Thursday, the other assistant priest instructed the
boys between ten and fom-teen years.
This system has been found very successful. Of the
six hundi-ed childi-en that attend these classes, upwards
of tln-ee hundi'ed and fifty are monthly communicants,
and the regularity and attendance at the classes have
increased each year.
In February, 1871, the Redemptorists gave a mission
of thi-ee weeks. About six thousand approached the sac-
raments. In February, 1874, the Dominicans gave a
three weeks' mission, hearing about five thousand five
hundred confessions. And in February, 1877, the Paulists,
OHlUiOII OF 'J'llK KI'll'IIANV OF Ol U, LOiU). 2.SI
ill a two weeks' luissiou, enabled about five thousand to
approach the Holy Table.
In 1876, R. L. Burtsell paid a visit to the Holy
See, and, in an audience with the Holy Father, Pius IX.,
obtained a special j)leiiary indulgence for the parish of
the I'j})i])hauy ; and in Lyons, France, purchased splendid
church vestments, superior to any known in the United
States, for the Church of the Epiphany.
In the year 1868, the pastor, Di\ Biu'tsell, made a
personal census of parishioners, taking all the adults'
names and the number of the cliildi'en, and found within
the parish limits nine thousand nine hundred and sixty-
eight Catholics. The parish limits then extended from
the north side of Eighteenth Street to the south side of
Twenty-fourth Street, from Fourth Avenue to the East
River. About 1876 the parish was extended to Broadway.
Hence at the present day, owing to the extension of the
parish limits and accession of Catholics to the district,
the parish of the Epiphany holds probably at jjresent
about eleven thousand Catholics.
The exterior of the church is one hundred and forty-
five feet long by seventy-five feet front; the interior is
about one hundred and thirty feet long by sixty-tlu-ee
feet wide, and has a seating capacity of one thousand
six hundred and fifty persons ; admitting about five hun-
dred and fifty more standing.
282
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR.
CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD.
Ahem, Philip.
Bergin, Thomas.
Boyle, Richard.
Brady, Marcus.
Brady, Terence.
Brannigan, James.
Capper, Edward J.
Carroll, John M.
Cooke, Charles.
Corrigan, John.
Cotteleer, Ann, Mrs.
Courtney, Patrick.
Coyle, Patrick.
Creeden, Timothy J.
Cronan, John.
Delaney, James.
Delaney, Dennis.
Delany, Daniel.
Dempsey, Owen.
Donohue, John.
Donohue, Timothy.
Donovan, Michael.
Duane, John E.
Duffy, John.
Farrell, Michael J.
Fitzgibbon, Michael.
Fitzgibbons, Morris.
Fitzsimons, Garrett.
Fox, Ann.
Generty, Joseph.
Goodwin, Samuel.
Graban, Henry.
Green, Edward.
Hanley, John T.
Kedian, James.
Kelly, Lewis J., Mrs.
Kelly, Patrick.
Keveny, Martin J.
Kiernan, Hugh.
Lannigan, James.
Ledwith, Edward.
McCarthy, John.
McCauly, Francis.
McCluskey, Joseph.
McCormick, Patrick.
McDermott, Patrick.
McDonald, Edward.
McDonald, John.
McDonnell, Ann, Mrs.
McGann, Patrick.
McGuiness, Denis.
Maheer, Eliza.
Moore, James.
Moore, Jane, Mrs.
Mullane, John.
Murtagh, Patrick.
O'Brien, Francis.
O'Brien, Richard.
O'Brien, William.
O'Connor, Charles.
O'Connor, David.
O'Connor, Joseph G.
O'Neil, Charles.
O'Neil, CorneHus.
Pagan, William.
Power, John.
Purcell, James.
Purcell, Francis R.
Reilly, James.
Reisenweber, George C.
Rourke, Francis.
Scanlon, John.
Smith, Peter.
Tiraoney, John.
Trainor, James J.
Torpey, William.
Tynan, Laughlin.
Ward, John.
Willis, Edward.
£' <^- l&u^^ilC
CHUIICII OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD. 283
THE REV. RICHARD LALOR BURTSELL,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY.
RICHARD LALOR BURTSELL was born April 14,
1840, in New York City, and baptized in St.
Mar}'s Cbnrch by the Rev. AValter Quarter, receiving the
name of Richard Lalor in remembrance of his paternal
HTand-uncle.
His father, Jolni Low Burtsell, was of a family
resident in New York City for over a century ; whose
mother, Mary Lalor, was a cousin of the Miss Lalor
who introduced the Visitation nuns into the United States.
His mother, Dorothea IMorrogli, of Cork City, Ire-
land, was related b}' lilood to the O'Donoghues and by
kinship to the O'Connells of Kerry; and on her mother's
side related to the Plowdens of Shropshire, England,
known for their stauncli adherence to the Catholic faith
since the Refoniitition of Hemy VIII. Her grandfotlier,
Francis Plowden, Avrote the " History of Ireland."
R. L. Burtsell, about 1847, went to the school of
the Sisters of Charity attached to St. Peter's Church in
Barclay Street, then to the French school attached to St.
Vincent de Paul's in Canal Street; about 1849 to the
Jesuits' College in Tiiird Avenue, and continued to attend
284 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
it when it was transfeiTed to Fifteenth Street ; in 1851
he proceeded to the Sulpitian College, Montreal, Cnnada.
To complete his theological course he was sent, in 1853,
to the College of the Propaganda in Rome, Ital}', as
convictor. He became an akimnus of the Propaganda in
1857; there he took the degree of Doctor of Philoso-
phy in 1858, and the degree of Doctor of Theology in
1862; was ordained priest in the Church of the Propa-
ganda by Mgr. Clementi, Archbishop of Damascus, in
partihis injideliuiii, and Nuncio to Mexico, on August lOtli,
1862. He said first mass on the Feast of the Assump-
tion following. On August 17th, he was admitted to a
private audience of the Holy Father, Pius IX., who,
after granting many privileges, gave him also a special
blessing, in his own liandAvriting, in these words : " Dom-
inus dirigat gressus tuos, aiid sit semper in ore tuo."
(May the Lord guide thy steps, and be always on thy
lips.) The Rev. Dr. Burtsell left Rome for tlie United
States on August 20th, 1862, and on arriving in his
native country was, in November, 1862, appointed as-
sistant at St. Ann's Church, Astor Place.
In 1876 the Rev. Dr. Bvxrtsell paid a \'isit to Rome,
and in an audience with the Holy Father obtained a
special plenary indulgence for the parish of Epiphany.
CHURCH OF SATNT FRANCIS OF A.SSISI.
WEST TIUIiXY-FIKST STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI.
THIRTY-FIRST STREET, BETWEEN SIXTH AND SEVENTH AVENUES.
THE Church of St. John the Baptist had been es-
tabhshed on the western side of the city for the
Cathohcs near the banks of the Hudson, but tares had
been sown among the wheat; dissensions and a want of
harmony retarded the progress of the faith, and proved
a stumbhng-block to many. This finally led to a division
of the congregation. In the year 1844, the pastor of St.
John's, the Rev. Father Zachary Kunz of the Order of St.
Francis, from the Province of the Immaculate Conception
in Hungary, resolved to establish a new church where
part of the old congregation might find more consola-
tion and peace. The Most Reverend Archbishop approved
the project, and Father Kunz prepared to begin a new
church. A fitting lot was soon procured in Thirty-first
Sti-eet, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.
The comer-stone was laid in tlie year 1844, with the
usual ceremonies, and a modest but solid little church was
erected before the end of summer, and it was solemnly
dedicated to the service of Almighty God on tlie 1st day
of August, under the invocation of the serapliic St. Francis
of Assisi, the holy founder of the Friars ]\Iinor. The Right
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. 287
Rev. John McCloskey, the coadjutor bishop, officiiited, as-
sisted b}' the pastor and sevei'al other clergymen. After
the rite of dedication a sermon was deHvered by tlie Rev.
Father Rnmpler, in German, followed by a discom-se in
English by the prelate still among us, whom Ave are proud
to honor as a Cardinal of the Holy Clnu-ch.
It was well indeed in oiu' great commercial city,
where men are so carried away by the insane desire for
wealth that they lose religion, honor, and honest}', to have
proposed as a model one who, in an age when trade
seemed to absorb all minds, renomiced the Avealth of his
father, a merchant prince of his day, and all the flatter-
ing future before him, to become poor and luunble for
Christ's sake.
John Bernardon obtained the name of Francis from
his early proficiency in French, acquired to insure greater
success in conducting trade with France. Brought up in
wealth, taught to look forward to wealth, he early felt to
use it only to relieve the poor, and sought to Ijecome
poor to follow Our Lord, who was the poorest <tf the
poor. Rejected by his father, he devoted himself to the
care of the sick, and to repairing churches by soliciting
alms. lie thus repaired the little church of Our Lady of
the Angels, Portiimcula, which became his residence. Here
others joined him, and the Order of Friars ^Minor arose
on the IGth of August, 1209. It has filled the world
with the odor of its virtues, its many saints in all orders
288 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
and ranks. To America it gave some of its earliest and
most devoted missionaries. They were among the first
and noblest pioneers of the faith in our territory ; more
than half the heroic men who laid down their lives for
the faith within the limits of the United States having
been sons of St. Francis of Assisi.
If the Saint loved poverty, he must have loved the
church in his honor in our city, for its early history is
a history of struggle and poverty. Yet it had consola-
tions. On the 10th of September, 1847, the eve of the
feast of St. Francis, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes blessed
a bell for the church, thenceforth to ring out the An-
gelus. It was the third Catholic bell in the city, and
the second to ring the thrice daily devotion of Catho-
licity. The next day the Bishop gave confirmation to a
hundred children of the parish. A procession met him
outside the door of the chm-ch, the members of the
Third Order of St. Francis, with lighted tapers.
Its reverend founder, Father Zacharias, continued to
administer its aff"airs till 1848, when he was succeeded
by the Rev. Father Alexander Martin, of the same order,
who, after spending several years in the Holy Laud, and
especially in the Chm-ch of the Holy Sepulclue at Jeru-
salem, came to this country. He was a pious and devoted
priest, and during the prevalence of the cholera nearly
fell a victim to it — the Rev. Mr. Bayley, afterwards
Archbishop of Baltimore, calling one day on him, found
CHURCH OF ST. FUANCI8 OF ASSISI. 2«U
him ill ;i state of collapse. Overcoming sonic of tlie
difficulties, he began to enlarge the front of the church,
retaining the rear portion of the old structure till Ijetter
times slioiild enable this to be rebuilt in a better and
more enduring form. By this enlargement he gained
much space for the accommodation of his parishioners,
who, as the buildings increased in that part of the city,
began to fill the church beyond its means ; the devo-
tion of many English-speaking Catholics to the great
St. Francis and his order leading them to make this
cIuutIi their special resort.
The churcli, as thus enlarged and renovated so as
to be a commodious edifice sixty-four feet wide by one
hundi-ed and fifty in depth, was solemnly dedicated by
his Grace Archbishop Hughes, on Monday, March 28th,
1853.
The Rev. Father Alexander retired in the year 1855,
and the Most Reverend Archbishop appointed as pastor
the Rev. C. Frederic Rudolph, a priest of the Diocese of
Mentz in Germany. He directed the parish till 18()4, and
was much respected and beloved by the fait] if ul under
his charge. Zealous to add to the dignity of divine
worship, he erected a spire on the church, and gave it
tlaree bells, whose chimes should ring out the Angelus
and call the faithful to the service of the Almighty.
The death of Rev. Mr. Rudolpli, in his fifty-ninth
yeai-, June 15, 1864, left the church without a pas-
19
290 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
tor, and as the Franciscans had so increased in the
United States, especially since their introduction from
Italy into Western New York as to form a province,
the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey resolved to
confide the church to the order founded by its holy
patron. The Provincial, then the learned Rev. Father
Pamfilo da Magliano, known as an ecclesiastical writer
and prudent superior, accepted the charge, and selected
the Rev. Father Andrew Pfeiffer, O.S.F., to assume the
direction of the chm'ch, which then became really Fran-
ciscan. He was also Guardian of the Convent, in which,
from time to time, other Fathers came to labor under
liim.
One of the first efforts of Father Andi'ew was to
put the parochial schools on a better basis. There had
been a school for boys ; to this he gave new life, and
for the girls he introduced into his parish the Missionary
Sisters of the Tliird Order of St. Francis, tlu-ee of
whom arrived from T}to1 on the 5th of December, 1866,
to begin their good work. For them he erected a suit-
able home adjoining the church, at No. 99 West Thirty-
fii'st Street. The fii'st year they could report one
hundred and twenty-seven girls, the pupils in the boys'
school numbering eighty. Their pupils now number more
than tlu'ee hundi'ed girls, and the department for the
boys, under a Brother of the Third Order, shows a simi-
lar increase.
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSl.Sl. 2!)1
In 1870 the Rev. Eugene Dikovicli became Guar-
dian of tlie Franciscan Convent and pastor of St. Francis.
He renovated the church, both exterior and interior, and
hopes soon to replace the still existing- part of the old
edifice by a more worthy structure.
The congregation is not by any means a large one,
nor does it number many on whom Providence has
showered wealth with a hand of 2ii"<jfiision ; but they
generally feel that their patron saint should be honored
in this great city by an edifice grander in its propor-
tions and design.
This they hope in time to accomplish, and with the
self-sacrificing body of clerg}- at their head, this great
result will probably be attained ere many years have
passed.
But whatever the futm-e may bring forth, the pres-
ent pastor feels it incumbent on him to do all in his
power to render the church and all its appurtenances
fitted to accomplish all that any parish can require.
In this view he has already done much to show
that the Cluu'ch of St. Francis is fully sensible of every
want and prepared to meet it. With n congregation thus
holding up the pastor's hands, half the battle is already
won. Aided by the generosity of his flock, the Rev.
Eugene Dikovich has added a new and fine organ, to
give the music of the church due solenuiity and effect
in the various offices of rellLaon. He has also erected
292 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
a new parochial school-house, adapted to the wants of lus
parish, and well supplied with all requisites.
This church has connected with it the Third Order
of St. Francis, a religious order instituted hy St. Francis
for persons living- in the world. It is termed the Third
Order — that of the Friars Minor being the first ; that of
the Nuns or Poor Clares being the second. It has been
encom-aged by the Sovereign Pontiffs, and has numbered
in its members some of the most illustrious Catholic names
in all countries — kings and cpieens, statesmen, writers,
artistS; soldiers, who all died in the habit of St. Francis.
There are also established in the congregation of St.
Francis of Assisi, Rosary, Pm-gatorian, and Altar socie-
ties; as well as associations in honor of St. Anthony,
St. Peter, and St. Henry.
1^5^?^
^^<J^
CHUllCll Oh' .ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. 293
REV. EUGENE JOHN DIKOVICII, O.S.F.,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI.
THE Reverend Fatlier of tlie Order of 8t. Francis
who noAv directs tlie parisli dedicated to tlie lioly
founder of tlie Friars Minor, Rev. Father Eu<;-ene Jolin
Dikovich, is a native of Hungary, born in tlie ( 'ounty of
Moson, on the 27th of January, 1841.
After .studying- tlie classics with the Benedictine
Fathers of Sopron, he entered the (_)rder of 8t. Francis
on the llth of October, 1857.
Here he pursued the usual studies to fit him for
the priesthood, had completed his cour.se oi' jihilosophy,
and had just begun his theological studies, ^\hcn he was
admitted to his religious profession on the 9tli of No-
vember, 1862.
Two years later the j'oung friar of St. Francis re-
ceived the holy order of priesthood, on the feast of
Candlemas, in the year 1864. He was inimediatel}- ap-
pointed to the temporary charge of several parishes in
the neighborhood of his convent, discharging his duties
in such a manner as to commend him to his superiors.
On returning to his convent he was ajipointed to
294 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
deliver the Sunday sermon in the collegiate church in
the city of Tirnavia, and besides discharging the duty
thus devolved iipon him for two years, he gave cate-
chetical instruction in the convent school of the Ursu-
lines in tliat city.
The same honorary post of Sunday preacher in the
convent church at Strigonium was filled by Father
Eugene from 18G8 to 1870, after which he was sent by
the General Superior of the Franciscan Order to the
United States, and attached to St. Mary's Province.
In the new field thus opened to his zeal he did
not remain inactive ; he was soon assigned by tlie pro-
vincial to the position of guardian and pastor of the
convent and church of St. Francis of Assisi, in West
Thirty -first Street. His ability and eloquence have made
him highly esteemed, and the church prospers under his
care. His associate is the Rev. Polycarp Giith, O.S.F., ex-
Custos, and there are also in the convent two lay brothers.
The Very Rev. Charles da Nazzano, O.S.F., for several
years Provincial of the American Province of the Immac-
ulate Conception, also resides in tliis house.
CHURCH OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER.
WEST SIXTEENTH STREET.
THE Fathers of the Society of Jesus were, in the
persons of the heroic priests — Isaac Jognes, Fran-
cis Joseph Bressani, and Simon Le Moyne — the tirst to
visit tlie city after its settlement by the emigrants from
Netherland. Tliey were the first to estabhsli Catliohc
worship and a CathoHc institution of learning here in
the days of James II.; they labored earnesth' here as
devoted missionaries and able educators in the days of
Fenwick and Kohlman.
In the year 1840, the late Most Reverend Arch-
bishop Hughes, regretting that the Diocese of Ne\\' York
had ever lost the services of an order so intimately con-
nected with the earliest efforts of the Churcli in the
city and State, invited to Now York a number of the
Fathers ^^■ho l)elongod to the Province of France, and
who had for some years been connected with the Dio-
cese of Louisville. He confided to their care the Col-
lege of St. John, which he liad founded at Fordham,
as well as the theological seminary established at the
same place.
Their zeal souglit also a field in the City of New
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIKII. 2!17
York as missioiiers and teachers. Encouraged by the
Most Reverend Archbishop, they purchased a clnirch on
Khzabeth Street which had been erected and used by a
Protestant (hMiouiination.
This edifice was thoroughly repaired, and fitted up
ibr a C^athoHc church, chiefly under the direction of the
Rev. Fatlier Peter Verheyden, S.J., wlio frescoed the in-
terior in a most artistic numner. This new church was
dedicated on Saturday, July 31, 1847, as the Church of
the Holy Name of Jesus, by the Rt. Rev. John McChis-
key, D.D., Bishop of Axiern and Coadjutor to the- IJislioj)
of New York. The Rt. Rev. AVilliam Quarter, D.D.,
l)ishop of Chicago, also took part in the ceremony, as
did a great number of the clergy of the diocese. After
the performance of the ritual of dedication. High ]\[ass
was off"ered ])ontifically by the Bishop of Axiern, now a
cardinal of the Holy Romnn Church, the Rev. William
Starrs of St. Mary's being assistant priest, the Redemi)to-
rist Fatlier Tappert, deacon, and the Rev. Gabriel Rump-
ler, subdoacon. The master of ceremonies was the Pev.
D. "W. l^acon, subsequently Bishop of Portland. After
the gospel, a sermon was preached by the (eloquent Fatlier
Ryder, President of the College of the Holy Cross,
AVorcester, IVIass.
The Jesuit Fathers fitted up the basement of this
church for an academy, the nucleus of a future colleger,
and were encouraged with the hope of Iteing able; to
298 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
find scope for their zeal. But their anticipations were
rudely dissipated. On the 22d of January, 1848, the fire,
through a defective flue, made its way between the plas-
tering and the wall, and unperceived sj^read through the
whole building, till it found vent in the steeple, where
it blazed out fiercely. Then it was too late to save the
church, which was soon one mass of flames, burning as
long as there was any fuel to feed them.
The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, after its
brief existence of about six months, passed from the list
of our houses of worship.
The Jesuit Fathers did not rebuild it, and for some
years difficulties impeded the commencement of a neAv
church in a more favorable locality. At last, in 1850,
they purchased several lots, extending from Fifteenth to
Sixteenth Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and
began to erect on Fifteenth Street the College of St.
Francis Xavier, and on Sixteenth Street the clnu-ch of
the same name. The project and the execution were
due in a great degree to the Rev. Father John Ryan,
who had already erected the first church at Yonkers.
The architect was Mr. William Rodrigue, and the plan
of the church was the Roman, Avhicli has always been
more commonly adopted, in chiu'ches of the Society of
Jesus, than either Gothic or Grecian.
The corner-stone was laid on the 24th of Septem-
ber, 1850, and the Rt. Rev. P. N. Lynch, D.D., Bishop of
CHURCH OF S'P. FRANCIS XAVIER. 299
Charleston, delivered on tlu' occasion a. liapj)}- discourse,
which was listened to witli marked attention hy the
crowds Avho assembled to witness the ceremony. The
want of more and larger clnn-ches was at this time sorely
felt, and all hailed with delight every accession of priests
and every additional church. i\Ian}' of the older struc-
tures were in evident need of enlargement or rebuilding,
even if ncAV churches accommodated part of their already
overflowing congregations.
The Church of St. Francis Xavier, thus begun under
most favorable auspices, was completed in the following-
year, and was solemnly dedicated on the 6th of July,
1851, by the Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes. After the
blessing of the sacred edifice according to the rites pre-
scribed by the Church, a Solemn High Mass was offered,
and his Grace delivered a sermon liefitting the occasion.
Among the distinguished Fathers ■\\ho have from
time to time been pastors, or engaged in the ministry at
this chm-ch, may be mentioned the Rev. Fathers Michael
Driscol, Joseph Durthaller, Joseph Loyzance, Isidore Dau-
bresse, W. Moylan, John Larkin, Hippolyte Deluynes.
Father John Larkin was one of the most eminent
members of the order in this mission. He had been
connected with the Society of St. Sulpice, and a pro-
fessor of great ability in their seminary at Montreal be-
fore he became a Jesuit. After he entered the order he
was, in 1850, appointed by Pope Pius IX. to the See of
300 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Toronto, Canada; l)ut in lii.s humility lie labored sii earn-
estly to avoid the honor that he was allowed to I'emain
in his order. He died suddenlj', on the 11th of Decem-
ber, ISfiS, just after leaving- the confessional, in Avhieh
he had spent the whole afternoon. He was to have
preached the next day in St. James' Church in behalf
of the parochial schools. Archbishop:) Hug-hes himself re-
})laced him, almost too full of emotion to speak.
Father Hippolyte Deluynes, who was almost con-
stantly attached to this church, till his death in 1877,
had Ijeen Professor of Theology in Kentucky', where he
entered the order. Learned, deeply versed in the Scrip-
tures, of a clear and penetrating mind, he enjoyed uni-
versal esteem.
Soon after the erection of the church and colle<re,
the Fathers in charge of the parish prej)are<l to do all
in their power for the cause of education. A substantial
building Avas raised in Nineteenth Street, at a cost of
some !B2 0,000, for the purposes of a boys' school, which
WAS placed under the care of the Christian Brothers,
\vho have continued to direct it to the j^resent time.
The Ladies of the Sacred Heai-t had established a con-
vent within the bounds of the parochial district, as-
signed to the Church of St. Francis Xavier. These
religious, the most accomplished of teachers, direct an
academy for young ladies in the building fronting on
Se\-enteenth Street, and in Eighteenth Street conduct the
CHUECH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. ;;()i
jjiirucliial school. Tli(3 iuflueucc of their tcacliiiij^- has
been ot" incalculable advantage.
The choir of the church, under the direction of Dr.
William Berge, who under Father Verlieydeu had be-
come the organist of tlie Church of the Holy Name,
attained a high standing in nuisical circles. The music
was always grand and decorous, free from the meretri-
cious liberties which so t)ften shock true Catholic feelino-.
Being at the time of its erection in one of the
most fashionable quarters of New York, the Church of
St. Francis Xavier was for years a center of the most
distinguished Catholics of the city. Here on a Sunday
would be seen at mass, army generals like Meagher and
Ferrero, painters like Leutze, men of wealth like Thomas
E. Davis.
The history of the church has been marred by oidy
one accident, which cast a gloom over it for a time.
The Church of St. Francis Xavier was, in March, 1S77,
attended by thousands anxious to benefit by the instruc-
tion given at a mission, eloquent sermons on all the
fundamental doctrines of the church — the necessity of a
Christian life, sincere repentance, and preparation for
death and the great final account. On the evenina- of
Thm-sday, March 8tli, while Father Langcake was deliv-
ering a sermon on death, during the mission to the wo-
men, some boys or other persons, from levit}- or a de-
sire to profit by the confusion for thievish purposes, jjut
302 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
their heads in at the church door and called out, " Fire !
Fire ! Fire ! " Instantly a panic spread among those near-
est the door, and a frantic rush was made to escape from
the building, which they supposed to be in flames. The
crush on the gallery stairs was tremendous, as each tried
to push a way tlu-ough, regardless of the safety of others.
The clergy at the altar reassured the mass of the con-
gregation and contimxed the ser\aces, in order to dispel
all fears. Father Meri-ick, the pastor of the church, who
had been engaged in the basement hearing confessions,
rushed to the front on hearing the noise above, and did
all that human 2^^^^'fi" could do to still the storm and
quiet the alarmed and frightened people. Calm was
at last restored. With the help of cool men, the clergy
and sexton raised and carried out those who had fallen,
and opened the way to the street. It was only then
that the extent of the disaster was known. Seven lives
were lost and seven persons were seriously injiu-ed by
the thoughtless or wicked trick.
The church had been considered safe, and more than
ordinary precautions had been taken against any real
fire — there were three doors, all oj^ening outwardly, and
the stairs from the galleries had but one turn, and were
lighted. So strong was all the work that nothing gave
way imder the tremendous pressure.
The funeral services for those who perished by the
disaster were most impressive. " One of the victims," said
CHUECH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 393
Father Langcake on that occasion, " was a good, pious
woman, and liad received communion the very morning of
the disaster. One young girl, Mary Casey, whose body
is here before you, was well known as a good, pious girl.
She came to mass every morning. All of them were
well prepared. We have every reason to feel consoled,
because God did not treat them harshly. Do not consider
it, tlien, as a proof of God's unkindness.
" God loves victims, requires victims. It is His way.
Did He not make His divine Son Jesus a victim 1 and
no one was more pleasing to God the Father than Jesus,
His Son ; and yet He was the great victim. He was
nailed to the cross of Calvary, and died between two
thieves. After Jesus came another, the pixrest of mere
human beings, Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus. What
a victim she was ! How her heart was pierced with
grief! The seven-edged sword of sorrow pierced that
heart tlu*ouo-h and through. After them came the saints.
Victims they were, that poured out their blood for the
faith, all for the love of God. What does this prove ?
It proves that God loves victims ; that he wants victims
in order to appease His anger against a guilty and fallen
race. He chose His victims, bvit chose them kindly and
mercifully. He chose them in His goodness from those
that were well prepared in a good moment. 'Weep not,
then, as they that have no hope.' My dear friends, you
have everything to hope ! We have made it our duty
304 CATnOLTr rTrURCHES OF NEW YORK.
to offer the adorable sacrifice of the mass for those that
have perislied and their relatives and friends who are so
much affected by the disaster. This morning- every sacri-
fice — some twenty-five in number — was offered for the
victims. I have just offered Solenni Hig-h ]\rass for the
dead, especially for those whose bodies are now in the
church."
This event induced the Fathers to carry oiit an in-
tention long- entertained, that of erecting a new, larger
and more substantial church. The want of such an edi-
fice had been felt, but the condition of affairs seemed
to require a prudent delay.
Between the old church and Sixth Avenue was a
row of seven houses. These were purchased, and four
taken down entirely, and tlu'ee in part ; a portion of
the college also being demolished. The plan of a new
cluu-ch was drawn up by P. C. Keely, the architect.
It will be of brick, with a fatjade of light granite, in
the Roman style. In its dimensions it is to be a
noble temple to the Almighty, seventy-seven feet in front,
with a depth of one hundred and - eighty-four feet. The
transept has a width of more than a hiuidred feet, and
is forty-five feet wide. The sanctuary will be sj^acious
and elegant.
«
There will be galleries at the side and front, and
two choir galleries, each with an organ electrically con-
nected, so that one player can control both.
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER.
305
T\n' I'nmt L'levation of the churcli will be one hun-
dred and tour feet, with towers rising one hundred and
eighty feet. These dimensions show that the church will
be vast and connnodious. The basement will be eiirht-
een feet high, to give a fine cliapel for the use of the
children. P^ver)' precaution will be taken for easy exit —
there will be live main entrances in front, with other
doors at the side and rear. The church will seat twenty-
five luuidred, and be an imposing edifice. The corner-
stone of this new clmrch was laid with great solenniity
on the 5th of May, 1878, the folloAvhig inscription, in
the most exact lapidary style, from the pen of the Rev.
Father C. Piccirillo, S.J., having been placed under the
stone : —
D • o • M •
IN • HONOREM
FRANCISCI • XAVERI
APOSTOLI • SOSPITATORIS • ORIENTIS
LAXIORIS • TEMPLI • OPERE • ADSVRGENTE
ANNVENTE • lOANNE • McCLOSKEY
S • R • E • CARDINALI
NEOEBORACENS • POXTIFICE • MAIORE
GVLIELMVS . QVINN
EIVSDEM • DICECESIS • IVRE • VICARIO • MODERATOR
SOLLEMNIBVS • CAERIMONIIS
QVAS • PATRITIVS • N • LYNCH • CAROLOPOLIT • PONTIFEX
CONCIONE • AD • POPVLVM • HABITA • CONDECORAVIT
LAPIDEM • SACRVM • AVSPICALEM ■ STATVIT
III • NON ■ MAIAS • ANNO • M • DCCC • I.X.XVIII
LEONE • XIII • PONT • MAX
RVTHERFORDIO • B • HAYES
BORF.ALIS • AMERICiE • FCEDERAT^E • PRESIDE
20
306 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
LVCIO • ROBINSON
NEOEBORACENS . REIP • GVBERNATORE
SMITH • ELY • IVNIORE
NOVIEBORACI • VRBIS • PILEFECTO
QVVM . ^DES . lAM . XXVII . ANNOS . Vll . MENSES . X . DIES . HONORI
S . FRANCISCI . XAVERI . DICATA . FREQUENTIAE . CVLTOKVM . IMPAR
ESSEX . PATRES .S.I. PETRO . BECKX . SVMMO . ORDINIS . PR^POSITO
ADPROBANTE . TEMPLVM . COMMODIVS . OPERE . ET . CVLTV
SPLENDIDIVS . EXCITANDVM . DECREVERE . ADMONITIV . ET . INSTANTIA
THEOPHILI . CHARAVX . NEOBORACENSIVM . CANADENSIVM . QVE
SODALIVM . MODERATORIS
ADSITAS . QVAQVA . VERVS . PRIVATAS . ^DES . AD . SEPTEM .COEMERVNT
EARVM . QVE . QVATVOR . FONDITVS . TRES . PARTIM . DEMOLITI . SVNT
ET . COLLEGIVM ■ IPSVM . MEDIA. ALA . EXCISA . DETVRBAVERVNT
VT • TEMPLI . MOLITIONI
AREA . PATERET . IN . FRONTEM . PEDES.
LXXXIII . IN . LONGVM . PEDES . CLXXXVI.
TEMPLVM . INSVPER . GERMINATVM . AB . INCHOATO . EVEHENDVM . EXORNANDVM
QUE . PATRITIO . C . KEELY . ARCHITECTO . COMMISSVN . EST
AD . INGENTES . OPERIS . SVMPTVS . CONATIBVS . SODALIVM .S.I. PIETAS
CVLTORVM . STIPE . CONLATA . DONIS . QVE . ADFVTVRA . ERIT
HENRICVS . HVDON . RECTOR . COLLEGI . IVVENTVTI . RELLIGIONE . BONIS
QVE . ARTIBVS . INSTITVENDAE . ITEMQVE . DAVID . MERRICK . VICE
SACRA . ECCLESI.1E . CVRATOR . ARDVVM . OPVS . SOLLERTIA . STVDIIS QUE . OMNIBVS
PROMOVEBVNT
AVE • FRANCISCE ■ SODALIS
SI • AMPLIORES • TIBI ■ ^DES
A • SOLO • EXCITAMVS
AST • TV • AMPLIORE ■ TVITIONE
COLLEGIO ■ SODALITATAQVE ■ NOSTRA
VOLENS • ADESTO • FOVETO
BENE • IWATO
This comer-stone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday,
May 5th, with the prescribed ceremonies and prayers, by
the Very Rev. WilHam Quinn, Administrator of the Diocese
during' the absence of liis Eminence Cardinal McCloskey.
The platform and the neighboring- houses were decorated
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 307
with flags, and an oil painting of the tituUir saint of the
church was disjjlayed in tlie view of all. At four o'clock
the procession emerged from the old church. The cross-
bearer and acolytes were followed by the children of
the Sunday-school and members of sodalities established
in the parish, and passed through the walls of the new
church to the large cross erected there. With the in-
scription, photographs of Pope Pius IX. and Leo XIII.
were deposited. The sermon was preached by the Right
Rev. P. N. Lynch, D.D., Bishop of Charleston, who had,
as we have seen, officiated in a similar manner at the
commencement of the old church.
He dwelt in his sermon on the wonderful o-rowth of
Catholicity in this country, especially in the city and
Diocese of New York, where the churches were mainly
the work of the poor — ( )f those dej^endent for a liveli-
hood on their daily toil — but who, in the deep sense of
their indebtedness to God, gave freely of their hard-
earned and scanty remuneration to the service of the
sanctuary.
The new structure is advancing prudently and with
care. Much is yet to be done, but the congregation
evince a zeal and generosity that insure its completion
in a style to endure for years, and give the pnrisli a
church fully adequate to all their wants.
308 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Roll
OF
I loNOR.
'
CHURCH
OF .ST. FR
.\NCIS X.WIER.
Aylvvard, James B.
Lyddy, Daniel R.
Burke, M., Mrs.
Lynch, J. J.
Butler, Agnes T., Mrs.
McCabe, Thomas.
Campbell, Mary, Miss.
McCann, Owen.
Cassin, Timothy.
McVey, John.
Crotty, John B.
Mara, Lawrence P.
Dean, Mary, Mrs.
Mooney, Owen.
Dowd, James.
Murray, Peter.
Duffy, Philip.
O'Brien, Michael.
Fitzsimons, John.
Patterson, James.
Fitzsimons, Michael.
Reardon, John.
Higgins, Simon.
Roach, Thomas.
Kean, Thomas.
Ryan, William.
Kelly, John, Mrs.
Sellers, Augustin.
Kensilla, Thomas.
Smith, Michael.
CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 309
REV. DAVID MERRICK,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER.
THE Rev. David Merrick is a native of New York
City. He was born February 19, 1833, and re-
ceived his education in St. John's College, Fordham.
Resohnng to devote himself to the service of God,
and feeling a vocation for the religious state, he entered
the Society of Jesus, July 21, 1853, and after years
spent in teaching and in the theological studies, received
holy orders.
After his ordination he was employed in the mis-
sionary work of the parish, and has now for several years
been pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, es-
teemed as an eloquent and learned preacher, an able
administrator, and a devoted jn-iest.
Two volumes from his pen, " Lectures on the Church"
and " Sermons for the Times," have been most favorably
received and widely read. Of Father Men-ick's " Lectures
on the Church," the Catholic World said: "They are logi-
cal, solid, and at the same time easy to be understood.
He refutes the Protestant doctrine on the Rule of Faith,
and establishes the Catholic rule, ending with the cul-
310 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
minating point of the supremacy of the Pope in govem-
ment and doctrine. The proofs of the latter from En-
ghsh history are remarkably appropriate and well put.
The style of the reverend author is pure and pleasing."
With the Fathers appointed to assist him in St.
Francis Xavier's, Father Merrick attends also St. Vin-
cent's Hospital, No. 195 West Eleventh Street, the old-
est and largest Catholic hospital in the city, which is
directed by the Sisters of Charity; and also St. Joseph's
Home for Aged Women, No. 203 West Fifteenth Street,
where those overtaken by years and infirmities receive
the kindest attention from the same devoted religious.
Other Fathers of the same order, residing in the
college, which adjoins the church, attend the Catholics
in the city institutions on Blackwell's Island, the poor
childi-en on Randall's Island, the emigrants on Ward's
Island ; while the prisons have for years received the
visits and care of a priest who has identified himself
with that excellent work — the Rev. Father Henry Dm-an-
quet, S.J.
UllUKOH 01' SAINT GABRIEL.
EAST THTT.TY-SEVENTU STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT GABRIEL
EAST THIRTY-SEVENTII STREET.
-^nr^ HE Chuvch of St. John tlie Evangelist, East Fiftieth
I Street, for some years acconnnodated the Cathohcs
in tluvt district of the city, but it soon l)ecanie evident
that tlie parisli was too hxrge for one pastor, and the church
too small for the Catholics already within its boundaries,
and especially so in Adew of the increase that the next
few years would l)ring.
His Grace tlie Most Reverend Arclibisliop Hughes
laid off a new parochial district south of that assigned
to St. John the Evangelist, and confided to the Rev.
William Clowr}', who had been assistant pastor at St.
Stephen's, the task of organizing a new congregation and
erecting a church.
A site for the sacred edifice Avas ;i gift. Among
the converts who, year by year, brought to tlie Catho-
lic Chm-ch the cultm-e, experience, and judgment which
had made them respected in the land, was Henry J.
Anderson, for many years Professor of Mathematics in
CohuTibia College, and to his deatli a member of the
Board of Trustees of thnt institution. Not only in tlie
CHUECH OF ST. GABRIP:!.. 313
patlis (if mathematics and the exact sciences, l)ut in vari-
ous departments of learning lie held the highest rank.
Step by step he was led to the Catholic Clmrch;
a correspondence to divine grace making him act on the
convictions of his intellect. From his conversion, in
1853, he gave the Catholic body not only the example
of a scrupulous and childlike practice of all Christian
duties, but his personal service in aid of institutions and
organizations. He was President of the Upper Council
of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul ; and filling the
same position in the Society for the Protection of Desti-
tute Roman Catholic Children in the City of New York,
he rendered incalculable service in furthering the welfare
of the NeM' York Catholic Protectory. When the Catho-
lic Union of New York was founded, a unanimous voice
called him to preside over its councils.
In the new 2^3,i"i*^li> i)laced under the care of the
Rev. Mr. Clowry, Dr. Anderson took a deep interest,
and he conveyeil to the church, in 1S.")9, eight lots on
East Tliirty-seventh Street, worth at least twenty-five
thousand dollars, as four additional lots j^iu'chased b}' tlio
pastor showed.
The new parish was placed under the invocation of
the angel Gabriel, the messenger chosen by God to an-
nounce to the Blessed Virgin i\Iary that the hour of re-
demption had come, and that of her, the Virgin so long
announced, was to be born the Sa\iour of the World.
314 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF KEW YORK.
For the propliet Daniel, centuries before, the angel Gabriel
had lifted the veil of futurity and heralded that event in
which he was to appear so conspicuously.
On the church to be raised in his honor, his effigy
might stand with the words of Holy Writ: "I am Ga-
briel who stand before God : and am sent to speak to
thee, and to bring thee these good tidings."
The Rev. Mr. dowry's first care was to erect school-
houses for the parish. These were completed towards the
close of the year ISf)!), and the first floor of the male
school was duly blessed as a chapel. A large congrega-
tion, numbei-ing fifteen hundi'ed, assembled here, and for
five years it was the temporary church, three masses being
said every Sunday morning.
Meanwhile the pastor zealously employed liis time
and influence to collect means to justify him in com-
mencing the erection of the church. The breaking out
of the late civil war, and the distress and gloomy fore-
bodings that filled the country, prevented the good work,
and it was not till the year 1864 that the building of
St. Gabriel's was imdertaken in earnest and the corner-
stone laid.
The architect to whom the work was intrusted was
Mr. H. Engelbert, who selected the Gothic architecture of
the thirteenth century, and reared a chui'ch of great
beauty.
The church fronts on Thirty-seventh Street, about two
CHURCH OF ST. GABRIEL. 315
liundred feet east of Second Avenue. The deptli of the
building- is one hundred and thirty-eight feet, and the
width sixty-eight feet. The nave is thirty-eight feet in
height, and the side aisles thirty-five feet. The height of
tlie front is seventy-eight feet, and of the tower and sjjire
one hundred and eighty-six feet. Brown stone from the
Belleville, New Jersey, quarries was used in the front of
the edifice; the side nnd rear walls are of brick, with
brown stone trimmings. The ceilings of the nave and aisles
are groined, and rest upon eighteen gracefull}' formed
cluster columns. The chancel is finished in the richest
style of ornamentation, and possesses a new feature in the
shape of two arches— the interior one twenty feet wide,
and the exterior one thirt}', so that the large altar can be
seen from every part of the churcli. This altar is finished
with a very rich screen of open tracery work, ^^■lth
statues, and a large painting of the Annunciation in the
centre. This painting is a copy, b)' Mazolini, from
Guido's celebrated painting of that ]\Iystery. There
are two side altars, elaborately finished, one of which is
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and the other to St.
Joseph.
The church seats sixteen hundred persons and cost
eighty thousand dollars. Most of this large amount was
collected by the Rev. Mr. Clowry in sums of from one
dollar to five hundred.
The church was dedicated on the 12th of November,
316 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
1865. The altars were beautifully adorned, ai^d the
whole interior decorated. At the appointed honr, his
Grace the Most Reverend Archbishop IVIcCloskey, attended
by the Very Rev. William Starrs, V.G., issued in pro-
cession from the vestry, the cross and acolytes leading
the long line of clergymen. After the ceremony pre-
scribed by the ritual had been completed, and the sacred
edifice dedicated to Almighty God under the invocation
of the holy angel Gabriel, the procession re-entered the
sacristy. The altar was then prepared, the priest attired
for the celebration of the holy sacrifice appeared -with his
deacon and subdeacon; the Archbishop and Bishop Lynch
of Charleston occupying the places of honor in the sanc-
tuary. The mass was then proceeded with, the celebrant
being the Rev. Father Baratta, assisted by the Rev. A.
Donnelly as deacon and the Rev. James Conron as
subdeacon. The sermon was preached by Bishop Lynch
of Charleston, S. C, who said : —
" Li the divinely inspired records of the old dispen-
sation, the Temple of Jerixsaleni ever stands out in most
remarkable prominence. It was the subject of prophecies
and promises before it was built. The sacred j^age nar-
rates with great minuteness the gorgeousness of its many
ornaments, and the inspired writers dwell with rapture on
the glories of the day spent in its dedication to the
Lord.
" Soon after our first parents went out of the Gar-
CHURCH OF ST. GABRIEL. 317
den of Eden they offered sacrifices to Ilim, and gathered
together stones and bnilt them an altar. Tlu-oughout
the patriarchal ages altars were built. These altars were
dedicated to God, and the memory of the sacrifices offer-
ed upon them sanctified the places where they stood, and
no man ovight to approach the same without reverence
and awe.
" Then God, with a strong hand, gathered together
his people from the land of Egypt and made them a
people to himself In their wanderings they bore about
with them, during ages of expectation, the tabernacle, in
which sacrifices were made, until the fullness of time
came. Jerusalem was chosen as the sacred site. And by
the command of God the people gathered together the
material which was to build the temple.
" In the fullness of time revelations came to the
human race through Jesus Chi-ist. Not alone in Jerusa-
lem were sacrifices to be offered to the Lord, but from the
rising of the sun to the going down of the same, every-
where, in all ages, shall sacrifice and oblation be offered
to the Lord God Almighty. The new law — the Clu-is-
tian law — was given to man.
" During the ages of persecution it was in the cata-
combs that the Christians worshiped in secret, for there
they were hidden from the light of the sun and the surg-
ing anger and wTath of their persecutors. These catacombs
were the refuge of Clu-istians for two hundi-ed years.
318 CATUOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
" For u time the Emperor's sword would be sheathed,
and then the Christians came out and erected some hum-
ble chiu'ches.
" But at length Clu-istianity triumphed over all its
enemies, and the Cln-istians came forth radiant from the
catacombs. Then very soon indeed was erected over the
tomb of St. Peter the Basilica.
" Years rolled on, and wherever Christianity was
preached, there more churches in the form of the Basilica
were erected. These churches were seen raising aloft
their golden domes everywhere and in all lands. Then
the Avork of Christianity spread further and wider, and
these churches midtiplied and were erected in that style
which is styled Christian by pre-eminence, and with which
pagan antiquities seemed to have no connecting link.
Then it was that the people built those churches which
still stand luiequaled in their artistic beauty, and un-
eqiuiled in the power they have to impress devotion upon
the souls of men.
"The highest and the noblest work in which a man
can engage is that of building churches. For what, my
bretln-en, is a church 1 What is the meaning of the word ?
The house of the Lord. The Lord has given you worldly
goods, and you take from them some portion and set it
aside to His glory,, and you give it to Him as if it
were a gift. And He in His goodness is pleased to ac-
cept it and make it more fruitful of benefits to yourself.
CHURCH OF ST. GABRIEL. 319
" Love your church ; revere it, frequent it ; for in
this church A\'ill the new-born child be brought that it
may be washed in the holy waters of baptism. Here too,
when the child is gi'own up, it will return to receive such
early instruction in divine truth as is adapted to its in-
tellect. Here too the youth will return to receive the
"•race of confirmation. Here too will those come who are
called to the holy state of matiimony, to be blessed be-
fore the altar, and to be strengthened and prepared to
fulfill the duties of their new state. Here too you may
come to worship Clirist and partake of yoiu- Lord's sup-
per. Here too you will come to hear the revelation of
divine truth and to have your duties made manifest to
you. Here too will come the mortal remains of the de-
parted Clu-istian that the prayers of the Church may be
said in his behalf.
"This is- what the Church is — a link between God
and man — between earth and Heaven. Love, therefore,
revere and frequent your church."
After the dedication of the church the Rev. Mr. Clowry
set to work to perfect the system of Catholic education
which he had introduced, and he succeeded, in spite of
many obstacles, in making St. Gabriel's schools the pride
of the parish.
The reverend founder of St. Gabriel's is still its pas-
tor, after nearly twenty years' labor among his flock. He
has been assisted from time to time by the Rev. John
320 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEAV YORK.
B. Baratta, Rev. B. J. O'Callaghaii, llev. Thoiuas J. Welch,
Rev. Andrew Canary, and his present cm-ates, the Rev.
William A. O'Neill, Rev. Nicholas J. Hughes, Rev. James
J. Flood, and Rev. William F. Brady.
The provision made in this })arish for the Catholic
training of the }"0ung is ample. St. Gabriel's Select
School, at Nos. 229 and 231 East Thirty-sixth Street,
nmnbers one hundi'ed and twenty }'oung ladies as pupils,
under the careful training of Sisters of Charit}'.
The parochial schools for gratuitous edvication, estab-
lished in 1859, are very large. The boys, under the direc-
tion of those experienced instructors, the Brothers of the
Chi'istian Schools, number eight lunidred and ninety ; and
the girls, taught by Sisters of Charity, are estimated at
five hundred; so tliat in this jxirish alone more than fif-
teen hundi'ed of the }'Oung are receiving- a sound and
tboroughly Catholic education, the Avliole bm-den of which
falls on those who cannot in conscience intrust their
children to the schools of the State, for wdiich they are
taxed.
Connected with the church are the following soci-
eties : St. Vincent de Paul Conference — President, James
Darlington ; Vice-President, Patrick Tierney ; Treasurer,
James Dempsey ; Secretary, T. J. Finley. St. Clabriel's
School Association — President, Hon. John Mullaly ; Vice-
President, P. H. McDonough ; Recording Secretary, Major
O'Shaughnessy ; Financial Secretary, Wm. T. Goggins ;
CHURCH OF 8r. GABRraL. 32 1
Correspondin
g Secretary, V. P. CaiToll. Youny Men's
Musical and
Literary Association, presided over by offi-
cers elected
annually. Besides these there ai-e other soci-
eties, such
as the Sodality of the Sacred Heart, the
Rosary and
Scapular societies, the Society of the Chil-
dren of ]\Iai
•y, &c., which are directed by the priests of
the cluu-cli.
Roll of Honor.
Adams, Bridget, M
■s. Byrnes, Michael. Conway, Arthur. Donnelly, John.
Ahein, Cornelius.
Cain, Michael. Corrigan, John J. Donnelly, Joseph.
Banan, William.
Callaghan, Joseph,Mrs Corrigan, Patrick. Donnelly, Patrick.
Banuon, Owen.
Callahan, James. Costello, Mar)-. DonnoIIy, T. 1'.
Barker, Francis.
Callahan, Jeremiah. Coughlin, Thomas. Donohue, Michael, Mrs
,
Berrigan, Eliza.
Campbell, Owen. Crawford, Mary. Donohue, Tliomas.
Bowen, Daniel.
Carberry, William. Creamer, Michael. Doody, ICUie, Miss.
Boylan, Ann, Mrs.
Carey, Charles. Cronin, P. Dooley, John.
Boylan, Mary.
Carney, John. Crowe, Michael. Doonan, Patrick J.
Boyle, John.
Carroll, E. P. Cunningham, Patrick. Dougherty, A. T.
Boyle, "Margaret, ^
rs. Carroll, Susan, Mrs. Cunningham, Thos. K. Dougherty, Cornelius.
Boylston, Edward.
Carney, John. Curran, T. Dougherty, Patrick.
Brady, James.
Casey, Luke. Daley, Catharine, Mrs. Downs, Patrick.
Bransfielcl, Honora.
Cassidy, Mary A. Daley, James. Doyle, John.
Brady, Hanna.
Cassidy, Patrick. Daly, John David. Duane, Michael.
Brady, Maria.
Chester, Maria, Mrs. Darcy, John, Duffy, John.
Brady, P.
Chidwick, John B. Darcy, D, Duffy, Owen.
Breen, Michael, A.
Clark, J. Delaney, Peter. Dunley, Joseph.
Brennan, James.
Clark, Kate. Delaney, William. Dunn, Eliza.
Brennan, John.
Clancy, Michael. Dempsey, James. Dunn, John.
Brennan, P.
Clifford, MichaeL Dennis, C. Dunn, Michael.
Britt, Mary, Mrs.
Coffey, John. Derwin, James. Ennis, Margaret.
Brown, Richard J.
Coffey, i'eter. Devine, Catharine, Mrs Erwin, .Annie, Mrs.
Bro\\'ne, Pat'k E.,^
rs. Coleman, Hugh. Devlin, James. Fagan, John,
lirowne, Richard.
Collins, Patrick. Diehl, Michael. Fallon, Daniel.
Burns, Maria, Mrs
Connell, T. Dillon, Patrick. Farley, J.
Byrne, Patrick.
Connelly, Rose E.Mrs. Dineen, James. Farrell, Hugh F.
Byrnes, Denis.
Connelly, Felix. Dolan, John. Farrell, John.
Byrnes, John.
Coonev, James F. Dolan, Margaret. Farrelly, Patrick.
Byrnes, Lawrence.
Courtney, J. Donegan, Eliza. Fawcett, Francis.
21
321
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Feeley, Ilannali.
Finnelly, '1'.
Fitzpatiick, Jolin.
Filzpatrick, Micliacl L).
Fitzpatrick, I'atrick.
Fitzsimmons, Kliza.
Fitzsimons, G.
Flannafan, CJeorge.
Flannery, Bridget.
Heming. Patrick, Mrs.
Fhihr, Ann, Mrs.
Flynn, A.
Flynn, J.
Foley, James F.
Foley, John.
Foreman, James.
Freeman, |olin.
FuUen, l"atrick.
Gallagher, John.
Gallagher, Michael.
Gallagher, Patrick.
Gallagher, Terence.
Gannon, Andrew.
Gannon, liridget, Mrs.
Gannon, Julia.
Garrahan, Ann, Mrs.
Garry, Joseph.
Gavin, Michael.
Gaynor, Edward.
Gehegan, Michael .\.
Geraty, Martin.
Gibney, .\nn.
Goggins, William T.
Golden, Charles.
Grace, William, Mrs.
Grady, Mary, Mrs.
Grady, Michael.
Gregory, Thomas.
Hall, Robert.
Hallon, Patrick.
Hatton, Patrick.
Healy, Thonia-s.
Heaney, Pierce.
Hedrick, Mary, ^[rs.
Hefferan, Patrick.
Higgins, John, Mrs.
Higgins, Patrick.
Hogan, JaiTies.
Hope, John,
Horlihy, M.irgaret.
Houlahan, [ohn.
Hughes, James.
Hughes, Peter.
Jones, P.
Kane, 1 high.
Kane, Thomas.
Kavanagh, Edward.
Keating, James.
Keefe, James.
Keegan, Alice, Mrs.
Kehoe, Edward.
Kehoe, Michael.
Kelly, Catharine, Mrs.
Kelly, Edward.
Kelly, James.
Kelly, Patrick.
Kelyberg, Ber'd, Mrs,
Kennedy, Kate.
Kennedy, Lawrence.
Kenny, P.
Kevelin, Bridget.
Kiernan, Bridget.
Kiernan, 1.. D.
Kindelon, Patrick.
King, Patrick,
Kinsella, Robert.
Lambert, Patrick.
Lambert, Timothy.
Lambert, \\'illiam.
Laverty, Mary J.
Leddy, Felix.
Lee, !\Lary, Mrs.
Leip, James.
Leonard, Catharine.
Leslie, Francis, Mrs.
Lestrange, Patrick.
Levins, James K.
Looram. Patrick.
Love, Michael.
Lowery, Thomas.
Lynch, John.
Lynch, T.
Mc.^ulifie, Florence.
Mc.^uliffe, John J.
McBride, Owen.
McCabe, Mary.
McCabe, William.
McCaflery, John.
McCahill, Maggie.
McCarthy, G.
McCarthy, James.
McCormick, Bridget,
McCrosson, Rose.
McCue, Elizabeth, Mrs.
McCnllen, Morris.
McDon.aId, John.
McDonough, Patrick.
McEvoy, Ellen, Mrs.
McGee, Patrick.
McGinn, Patrick.
McGlew, Christopher.
McGrath, Michael.
McGrath, P.atrick.
McGurren, John.
\\'oods,
McLityre, .-^nnie, Mrs.
McKee, Patrick.
McKenna, J. Mrs.
McNally, J.
Madden, Michael F.
Madden, t.)wen.
Madden, Peter.
Mahony, James.
Marcella, John.
Markey, G. W.
Markey, James.
Martin, P.
Masterson, Ed. Mrs.
Mead, Michael.
Meehan, Kate,
Meeks, John, Mrs.
Meskelli John.
Milligan, Cath., Mrs.
Moloney, T. F.
Morgan, Matthew.
Moore, Catharine.
Mordan, John.
Morgan, J.
Morris, Patrick.
Mulligan, Catharine.
Mulligan, James.
Mulsley, Mary.
Murphy, John.
Murphy, Thomas.
Murphy, Timothy.
Ahu'ray, John.
Mutel, .August.
Noonan, John.
Norris, John IL
Nugent," Matthew.
O'Brien, Dora.
O'Brien, J
O'Brien, Joanna, Mrs.
O'Connell, JelTrey.Mrs
O'Connor, Connell.
O'Connor, John, Mrs.
O'Donnell, B.
O'Donovan, Tim'y J.
O'Hara, James.
O'Hara, Mary.
O'CSara, John \V.
O'Grady," Mary, ^h■s.
O'Keefe, Thomas.
O'Rourke, Bernard.
O'.Shaughnessy, John.
O'Sullivan, Hanna.
Otterson, Francis.
Padden, John.
Phillips, "H. i\L
Pollard, Daniel.
Powell, Daniel.
Powell, Thomas.
John.
Prunty, J.imes.
Purcell, Patrick.
Quin, Julia, Mrs.
Quinn, Lawrence H.
Radican, Eliza.
Readen, Julia.
Reahill, Ann.
Reddy, Mary.
Reilly, Edward.
Reilly, Ellen.
Reilly, Kate.
Reilly, Mary.
Reilly, Rose.
Reynolds, Peter.
Reynolds, Thomas.
Rice, Michael ^L
Robinson, James.
Ryan, Bridget.
Ryan, Thoiuas. F.
.Sage, Patrick.
Scott, Nicholas.
Seery, Bernard, F.
Seward, Mafthew.
Shaughnessev, J.
Shea, D.
Shea, Mary T. Mrs.
Sheehan, M.
Sheridan, James.
Sheridan, Richard.
Skahan, James E.
Slater, J."
.Slater, I'atrick.
Smith, .\lice, Mrs.
Smith, Charles.
Smith, James, Mrs.
Spillane, Morris.
Stokes, John.
.Stringer, James.
Sullivan, I)ennis.
.Sullivan, John.
.Sweeney, Paul.
Thornton, John N.
Tucker, John.
Tulley, Thonias F.
Turley, Richard.
Tyrrell, Margaret, Mrs.
Walsh, John.
Walsh, Matthew.
Waters, Benjamin.
Waters, Patrick.
Weir, Rose.
Whalen, James.
Whalen, Thomas.
Whelan, Henry, Mrs.
Willoughby, Mary, Mrs
WootUock, David.
Woods, F.
^\ /r''''.'y'"'7yfO'/Y/7^if>W/f<^'^^'^f^'^<'^^'
y^^^^^ ^/^^^tj^-y;p ,
CHURCH OF ST. GABRIEL. 323
THE REV. WILLIAM H. CLOWRY,
PASTOR OF ST. GABRIEL'S CHURCH.
TIILS worthy priest, who has so long enjoyed the
confidence of his ecclesiastical superiors and the
attachment of the llock confided to his care, was born in
the Coirnty Carlow, Ireland, in the year 1822, and was
educated at C.^arlow College, from which he passed to the
celebrated seminary of the Irish clergy at Maynooth.
Having become connected with the Diocese of New
York, he was assistant to the Rev. Dr. J. W. Cummings at
St. Stephen's Chm'ch from the year 1857 till he began his
labors in St. Gabriel's parish, two years later. The history
of that chm-ch is the record of his exertions to give his
parishioners a noble temple, while it evinces his care of
their spiritual interests and his devotion to the educa-
tion of their cliildi'en.
His zeal was manifested on many an occasion to
be remembered, but was heroic during the terrible draft
riots, which for several days deluged New York City in
blood.
In the general care of his parish, and especially in
the institutions for spreading among his flock the bene-
fits of a sound Christian education, and in those catecheti-
324 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
cal instructions wliicli are given in the Sunday-schools,
the ReA". Mr. Clowrv has been ever an unremitting and
zealous priest.
He has, too, called in the services of those zealous
priests belong-ing to religious orders who devote them-
selves especially to giving missions in our churches, and
whose instructions and exhortations rouse the dull, the
torpid, and the negligent, by the pictm-e of the fearful
penalty they incur, wliile by portraying God's love and
mercy they win them to a better life and encourage
the good to perseverance.
The mission given in the parish of St. Gabriel by
the Redemptorist Fathers Wissel and Fetch, Avith their
associates, in November, 1873, afforded great consolation
to the reverend pastor.
He has had the direction of the Sisters of Mercy of
this city for many years, having been appointed to that
charge by his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey. A more
striking proof of the confidence felt by his Eminence in
the sacredotal experience, judgment and prudence of the
pastor of St. Gabriel's is seen in the fact that he has
selected him as a member of the Council of the diocese,
whose advice he takes on all important matters.
OHUKOH OF TlIK HOLY CROSS.
WEST FORTY-SECOND STREET.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS.
AVEST FORTY-SECOND STREET.
THIS churcli recalls the memory of the first Cath-
olic priest who is known to have visited Man-
hattan Island and exercised his sacerdotal functions among:
civilized men upon it. Father Isaac Jogiies, avIio was
rescued by the Dutch from the liands of the Ijlood-tliirsty
Mohawks, descended the noble Hudson witli his deliver-
ers, who, out of respect for one who had suffered so
much in his labors to extend the gospel, iiamed an island
in the river after the missionary.
Father Jogues was a lover of the cross, and in one of
his writings styles himself a Citizen of the Holy Cross,
because the cathedi'al of his native citv, Orleans, was
dedicated to the Holy Cross. In his devotion to the
symbol of our salvation he composed a litany.
A churcli abo\-e St. Columba's was called for about
the year 1852, and the ]\rost Reverend Archbishop confided
to the Rev. Joseph A. Lutz the task of looking after the
spiritual interests of the faithful in that part of the city,
many of whom had found it almost impossible to attend
any of the churches regularly, especially with their
yoiuiger children, on account of the distance.
*
So impressed was Archbishop Hughes at this time
CHURCH OF THIO HOLY CROSS. 327
witli tlic wants of tlie Catholics in tlie I'it}', that lie re-
solved to defer his cherished project of coniniencing the
work of a new cathedral in order to give the Catholics
in the i-ity every opportunity of hearing mass and ap-
j^roaching the sacraments.
During the Jubilee there had been Ijetween seventy
and eighty thousand connnunicants; and, as he inferred
from this, there were at the time on New York island
a quarter of a million cif Catholics. lie felt the urgent
need of buildiu"- at once eigrht or ten new churches.
Looking rather at the pressing want than any ?esthetic
idea, he proposed to make them plain and solid, not to
cost more than fifteen thousand dollars each.
To carry out the work of chm-ch extension he })ro-
jected a society like that established in France to aid
foreign missions, the well-known Association for the Pro-
pagation of the Faith. A large association in which each
member paid a weekly trifle Avould give a fund from
which loans coidd be made to each new church, and
when returned by it, loaned to others.
On the 15th of February, 1852, at the close of his
semion in the Cathedral, he called a meeting after vespers
and there imfolded his plans.
The Chm-ch of the Holy Cross was one of tJie first
fruits of his appeal; and though the projected association
never attained the development he desired, it roused the
Catholic body to renewed effort.
328 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The Rev. IVIr. Lutz obtained a place as a temporary
chapel in West Forty-second Sti-eet, between Eighth and
Ninth Avenues, and in this Chapel of the Holy Cross
gathered his new congregation. Roused by the words of
their Archbishop and by a sense of their own needs, the
faithful showed every appreciation of the advantages thus
offered them of enjoying the ministrations of their holy
religion in their midst, and the priest was encouraged to
pm'chase ground for the erection of a permanent church.
The temporary structiu-e was well attended ; lectures were
delivered, and other means adopted to interest the Catho-
lics in and around the parish in the good work.
The comer-stone of the new church was solemnly
laid, and the interest of the people and their pride in
being among the first to carry out the Archbishop's wishes
led them to strain every nerve to carry on the work
without any useless delay. They were soon rewarded
by its completion. It was not by anv means a poor,
plain structure, but a fine ecclesiastical edifice.
The Church of the Holy Cross was finally completed
towards the close of the year 1854, and was solemnly
dedicated on the 17th of December in that year, by the
Very Rev. AVilliam Starrs, Vicar General (A' the diocese,
who, after the usual ceremony by Avliich the Church
blesses buildings for the offering of the divine sacrifice,
which is the center and sun of the whole system of her
worship, offered a Solcnni High Mass, assisted by the
CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS. 309
reverend pastor, and Ly the eloquent Augustinian, the
Very Rev. Dr. IVroriarty, who preached on the occasion.
The church thus erected by tlie Rev. Mr. Lutz in
lionor of tlie Holy Cross, was a l)rick edifice, constructed
in Roman style, one hundred feet in depth by a width of
seventy-five, capable of seating- fourteen or fifteen hundi-ed
comfortably. There was no elaborate ornamentation, but
it was grand and imposing ; the tall spire, towering one
hundred and sixty feet, making it a conspicuous object
in that part of the city.
The Rev. Mr. Lutz, in 1855, was transferred to the
Church of the Immaculate Conception. The Rev. Thomas
Martin, O.S.D., was then sent to this church. Of his
ministry here, Archbishop Hughes said : " From St. Brid-
get's he went to the then hardly formed congregation in
Forty-second Street, ■\\'here, AA'ithout haranguing, he began
silently and noiselessly to work to show them tlieir way
through their difficulties until the people began to under-
stand themselves and to be a congregation — a numerous
congregation." Soon after, the Rev. Patrick McCarthy
became pastor of the Holy Cross. During his pastorship
the Church of the Holy Cross met with an accident
hitherto unexampled in the history of the Catholic sanc-
tuaries of the city. It was struck by lightning in 1867,
and so injured as to require a thorough examination.
The result was b}' no means satisfactory. It was very
apparent that the ^\■ork had not in the first instance
330 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
been projjerly done. Competent iircliitects and builders
prononnoed the walls unsafe down to tbeir base.
The congregation found themselves deprived, as it
were, of all their sacrifices and generous contriluitions.
There was no alternative but to take down the church
and rebuild it from the very foiuidation.
The Rev. Mr. McCarthy at once began the neces-
sary M^ork. The old edifice was taken down, and the
})resent Church of the Holy C'ross was completed in the
year 1870. It is a spacious, cruciform building, in the
transition style of Byzantine. The depth is one hundred
feet, and the width seventy-two feet, expanding to ninety-
two feet in the transepts. Over the intersection of the nave
and transept rises a cixpola, lighting the sanctuary and
nave. This is a dome on a square basis, gradually riin-
ning into the octagon form, and finishing with a lantern
semicircular in the ceiling and one hundred and twelve
feet high from the church floor. The whole height from
the street cm-]> to the to]) of the cross surmounting the
dome is one hundred and forty-eight feet. The front,
which is massive and imposing, is of pressed Philadelphia
brick trimmed with l^elleville stone intermixed Avitli pol-
ished bluestone. In construction it is one of the most
solid and substantial churches in the city. The altar is
handsome and im^iosing, composed of two arched towers,
with a crenelated curtain between. In front of this
stands the elegant tal)ernacle. Above it hangs a paint-
CHURCH OF TIIK HOLY CROSS. ;;;n
ing- of the Crucifixion, wliicli wms the iilt;ir-piece of old
Ho] A' Cross.
Tlie windows are filled in with rich stained fflass,
with appropriate designs, emblems, and monograms.
The church was erected after the designs of Ileni-y
Engelbert, architect, and will seat, including the galleries,
fifteen hundred, with standing room for six hundred more.
This fine church was dedicated on the 7tli day of
May, 1870, the feast of the patronage of St. Joseph.
The ceremony was performed by the Very Rev. William
Starrs, Vicar General of the diocese, assisted by a host
of clergymen, including Rev. Father Daubresse, Rev. Dr.
McCJlyiin of St. Stephen's, Rev. M. Curran of St. An-
dre\\''s. Rev. Mr. Gleason of Brooklyn, Rev. Mr. Conron
of Staten Island, Rev. Mr. Bodfish, Rev. R. Brennan,
and Rev. Dr. Burtsell. After the dedication a Solemn
High Mass was offered, the reverend pastor being the
celebrant. Rev. Messrs. Flanelly and Brophy deacon and
subdeacon, and Rev. George IMurphy master of cere-
monies. The music, under the direction of the organist,
Mr. Gomien, was a fine rendition of Haydn's First Mass.
The Very Rev. Mr. Starrs jireached — congratulated the
congregation at the completion of a work which had en-
gaged their anxious attention for the last two years. The
church was, he said, rebuilt in a manner creditable to the
generosity and charity of the peojile and the zeal and
devotion of the pastor.
332 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
After tlie communion the Rev. ]\Ir. McCarthy addressed
his flock. " They had liad many trials and many diffi-
culties to encounter," as he told them, " but with the
blessing of God they had surmounted them, and the
brilliant result was there visible to all. Again they were
enabled to take their place among the churches of New
York."
The Rev. Patrick IMcCarthy remained in charge of
the parish till his death, August 7th, 1S77. He was
ever zealous in the discharge of liis duties, and Avas re-
markable for his great charity and love of the poor.
During his long pastorate he was assisted liy several
clergyiuen — the Rev. Patrick Egan for about six years,
the Rev. J. Nilan for three, the Rev. W. Flanell}' for
five, the Rev. Martin J. Brophy for fom-, and by others
for shorter terms.
As parish priest of the Holy Cross, his Eminence
next selected the Rev. Charles McCready, who still directs
the congregation, assisted by the Rev. Maurice Dougherty,
the Rev. Joseph Campbell, and the Rev. Joseph Smyth.
The present pastor has freed his chiu'ch from nnich
of its heavy biuxlen of debt, and besides done much to
make the "Holy Cross" more fitting to elevate the heart
to heaven. The high altar has been in part reconsti-ucted
and renewed in fine taste. The altar of the Sacred
Heart has also been beautified, and sunnounted by an
elegant jjainting of Our Lord imder that consoling title.
CHURCH OF TIIK IKJLY CROSS.
333
The jjarish of llie Holy Cross is well endowed with
educational institutions. The Sisters of Charity have,
within its boundaries, Holy Cross Academy, founded in
1859, with a hundred and fifty yoiuig ladies as pupds ;
St. Vincent's Industrial School, Avith a hunth-ed and sixt}'
pupils ; and a girls' parochial school, with six lumdred
pupils.
The annual marriages in this church are about sixty-
four; the baptisms over six hundred. Although the parish
of the Sacred Heart was formed principally from Holy
Cross about two y
ears ago, there is
very little diminution
perceptible in the
number of attendants or the income 1
of the chm-ch.
Ro
Archer, Charles, Mrs.
LL OF H(
DNOR.
Devine, Margaret, Mrs.
Clarkin, Christopher P.
Baily, Joanna M.
Cleary, John.
Dewhurst, James.
Ball, Jane.
Clifford, Timothy.
Dewhurst, John.
Hardy, Matthew.
Coffey, Martin.
Disel, John N.
Beglin, Michael.
Coffey, William.
Dobson, Francis.
Berrigan, William.
Cooney, James.
Doherty, Daniel.
Bowes, John J., Mrs.
Corey, William.
Dolan, Hugh.
Bowman, George.
Corkery, Daniel H.
Dolan, James.
Brady, Thomas.
Costello, Patrick.
Donnelly, Dennis.
Brogan, Tatrick.
Cowan, Patrick.
Donohue, Michael, Jr.
Burke, James.
Coyle, Catharine.
Doran, Alice, Mrs.
Burke, I'atrick, Mrs.
Coyle, Dominic!;.
Downey, John.
Burns, James.
Coyle, Francis II.
Doyle, C. M.
Byrne, William P.
Craden, Patrick.
Doyle, John, Mrs.
Cain, Michael.
Crane, Owen.
Doyle, Thomas.
Calhoun, Henry.
Crosby, Mary, Mrs.
Duane, Margaret.
Callan, Bernard.
Cross, Michael.
Duane, William.
Carey, Cornelius.
Curren, Patrick.
Duggan, John, Jr., Mrs.
Carley, Patrick.
Cushing, Thomas, Mrs.
Dunn, Thomas.
Carroll, John.
Cusick, Maggie.
Dux, J.acob.
Carroll, "Margaret, Miss.
Davis, Benjamin.
Early, William.
Carroll, Michael.
Delahant, Patrick.
Edmonds, ,'\. K., Mrs.
Carroll, William.
Delmore, James.
Edwards, L.
Caruther, Patrick.
Denue, Maria, Mrs.
F.all.ahee, James.
Casey, Bernard,
Devine, J. C.
Farmer, \Villian\.
334 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF
NEW YOKK.
Ferrell, Bryan.
Lonergan, Thomas.
O'Brien, James.
FitzgeraUl, Joliaiina.
Looran, Michael.
O'Brien, |ohn.
Fitzpatrick, James.
Lulves, Otto.
O'Brien, "Patrick.
Flanigan, George.
Lunny, Peter.
O'lJrien, Thomas.
Flynn, James.
Lynch, Hugh.
O'Brien, Thomas [.
Flynn, Joseph.
Mc.\dams, 'Hiomas.
O'Calahan, Timotli}'.
Freeman, Hugh.
McBain, Thomas.
O'Connor, Patrick.
Gallagher, John.
McCabe, James.
O'Donnell, Nicholas.
Gallagher, Rodger.
McCann, Hugh Gregory.
O'Donovan, Jeremiah.
Garvey, J., Mrs.
McCartney, Thomas.
O'Flaherty, Edward.
Garvey, Margaret.
McCormick, Patrick.
O'.N'eil, Francis.
Gibbins, Austin.
McCormick, William.
O'Neil, George.
Gleason, Michael, Mrs.
McCue, fames, Mrs.
O'Xeil, Owen.
Gonnoud, James.
McCullough, Henry.
O'Neil, Peter G.
Goodman, John.
McCuUough, John.
Payten, James.
Gordon, George.
McCullough, Peter.
Phelan, Michael.
Gordon, Robert.
McDermott, James.
Plumb, Emilie, Mrs.
Grant, Tlromas.
McDonald, Patrick.
Powers, Lizzie.
Gray, Ann.
McDonnell, Daniel.
Purcell, William J.
Gray, John.
McDonnell, Peter.
Quinlan, John B.
Greenam, Edward.
McGary, Bridget, Mr-..
Quinn, Henry.
Griffiths, N. J.
McGee, Michael.
Quinn. Peter.
Guinevan, William.
McGinley, Roger.
Rafter, iLargaret.
H.ackett, Thomas.
McGinty, Catharine.
Reid, M.
Haden, Joseph.
McGirr, John.
Reilly, Jeremiah.
Hagen, Matthew.
McGowan, Peter.
Reilly, Luke.
Halligan, James.
McGrane, .\nna, Mrs.
Reilly, Margaret.
H.allig.an, Thomas.
McGuiness, John.
Reilly, Terence F.
Hamblin, Jane, Mrs.
McGuire, Eliza.
Reynolds, James.
Hand, Bernard.
McHugh, Michael.
Reynolds, John.
Hanson, Susan.
Mclntyre, Charles.
Roach, Ellen.
Hart, John.
Mclntyre, P. B.
Rock, Lawrence.
Hart, I'eter.
McKeever, John.
Rooney, Hugh.
Haviland, Ann, Mrs.
McKenna, John.
Ruddy, Francis,
Haydon, Mary, Mrs.
McKenna, "Michael.
Rulves, Otto.
Hennessy, William.
McKevitt, Henry, Mrs.
Ryan, Philip.
Henry, John.
McLauglilin, P.
.Secor, S. .^L
Hepburn, W'illiam.
McLoughlin, Dennis.
Seward, Mich.ael.
Holbrook, John.
McLoughlin, Peter.
Sheedy, William.
Hughes, Hugh.
McLoughlin, P. J.
Sheridan, James.
Hughes, John.
McMahon, Patrick.
Sheridan, .Mary.
Hurst, George.
McManus, [ohn.
Sherry, Edward M.
Joyce, William.
McNabb, Elizabeth, Miss.
Shevlin, Hugh.
Kane, TatricU.
McPartland, Hugh.
Sievin, Catharine.
Keating, William J.
McPartland, .S.
Smith, Samuel.
Keenan, Thomas.
Maker, James.
Spellissy, Denis A.
Kehran, James.
Mahon, Bridget.
.Stack, John.
Kiernan, Maggie, Miss.
Mahony, Patrick.
Tallon, Eliza.
Kellehar, Thomas.
Male, John.
Thorp, Patrick.
Kelly, Daniel.
Maloney, Dennis.
Tracey, Patrick.
Kelly, Henry.
Mardon, Fannie M., Mrs.
Treanor, James J.
Kelly, Lawrence.
Miller, John, Mrs.
Treanor, Matthew.
Kelly, P.
MoUoy, John.
TuUey, Michael.
Kemble, James.
Morrissey, Edward, Mrs.
Victory, Thomas.
Kennedy, James.
Morrissy, Jeremiah.
Ward, Owen.
Keys, Mary.
Mulholland, James.
Ward, William.
Kinley, James.
MuUins, John.
Warren, Joseph,
Kitson, "Maria.
Murphy. John.
Warring, C. IS.
Laracy, .M ichael.
Murphy, Patrick, Mrs.
Washburn, Jethro.
Leahey, Daniel.
Murray, Hugh, Mrs.
Welsh, Delia.
Leahy, Patrick.
Murray, William.
W'helan, Michael.
Leonard, Terence.
Nugent, John.
Whelan, Paul.
Logan, J. J.
Nugent, Patrick.
White, John.
Logan, Matthew.
Nunnery, P.
CHUROH OF THE HOLY CROSS. 335
REV. CHARLES McCREADY,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS.
THE i«istor of the Church of tliu Holy Cross was
bom at Letterkenny, in the County of Done-
gal, li'eland, in 1837, and after a course of classical
study, in which his piety and ability were alike manifest,
was selected by his Bishop, the late Dr. McGettigan of
Raphoe, as a student from his diocese at Maynooth.
In that venerable institution he justified the hopes en-
tertained, but his thoughts were already turned to a field
far from his native diocese. He came to America before he
concluded his theological course, and entering Mount St.
Mary's, Emmettsburg, finished his divinity studies wdiile act-
ing as one of the professors of that institution. Upon his
ordination, in 1866, he was appointed assistant pastor at
the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Fiftieth Street,
New York, and for three years zealously discharged his
duties in the large parish then attached to that church.
In 1869 he was transferred to St. Andi-ew's Church,
where he remained two years, when he was transferred
to St. Stephen's. Here, during six years, a heavy share
of parochial Avork fell to his lot, besides which he at-
tended the numerous Catholic patients in Bellevue Hospital.
His merits were recognized, and in 1877 his Emi-
336 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
nence Cardinal McCloskey appointed him parish priest of
.the Holy Cross. He found his chm-ch struggling under
a load of debt, which, notwithstanding the difficulties of
the times, he resolved to reduce at once, and his efforts
proved that he had not miscalculated his own zeal and
energy, or the generosity of his flock.
As the chiu'ches of the diocese have all been con-
secrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he made it his
great object to excite this devotion to our Lord in the
hearts of his parishioners. The result was singularly
consoling. The daily masses, at hours when the faithful
workingmen can attend them, are frequented to a degree
that is seldom seen; the confessionals, regulated so as to
enable all to approach, are tlxronged; and the fruits of
the mission given by the Dominican Fathers seem of
a most durable and permanent character.
Deeply attached to his church, he has labored not
only to make each of his flock a living temple of the
Holy Ghost, l)y a truly Christian life, and a frequent
participation in the graces of which the sacraments are the
channels, but also to make the material chiu'ch, in its
outward beauty and neatness, all that can elevate the
heart and attest the honor he desires to render to God.
Laboring earnestly for the welfare of his flock, and
for the progress of the young in the parochial and Sun-
day-schools, the Rev. Mr. McCready has won the confi-
dence and esteem of his people.
■X
- r^~'
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS.
22 WEST THIRTY-SEVENTH STREET.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS.
WEST THIRTY-SKVENTH STREET.
IN 1866, liis Grace tlie Most Reverend Archbisliop
McCloskey felt, from the representations made to
him, that a new church was needed about West Tliirty-
seventh Street. He confided a district to a clergyman
who had abeady acquired experience in the care of souls,
and those arduous duties that so often devolve on a priest,
Avhere he has to become a man of business, an archi-
tect, and a financier as well as a clergyman.
The new pastor found, at the corner of Thirty-
seventh Street and Broadway, a small frame Ijuilding,
an Episcopal Church, known as the Chm-cli of the Hoi}'
Innocents, the Rev. Mr. Elmendorf being the pastor.
The society was not pros2)erous, and the property Avas
for sale. After some negotiation, in which, as often hap-
pens, the price rose when the object was discovered,
the Rev. Mr. Larkin purchased the property, and soon
after, other adjacent lots, so as to afford a site, not for
the future church only, but also for a parochial resi-
dence and the parish schools. The real estate thus ac-
quired for Catholic use cost altogether, a hundred and
thirt>' thousand dollars.
CHUKCll OF TIIK llol.Y INNOCENTS. 339
^Miem we liii\ (_' ;ic([iiirn(I cliurclies wliicli ;i Protest-
ant denoiniiiatiou liad dedicated to our Blessed Lord, or
any of the lioly mysteries of liis Life and Passion, or
to any of tlie saints, it has been the custom to retain
the name. In tliis case tlie same course was followed.
The buildiiiii' had l)een dedicated to the Hcdy Innocents —
those babes A\ho confessed our Lord, not b}' their lips,
but by their l)lood — who died by the Idow intended m
Herod's jealousy and fear for our Blessed Lord himself,
the Infant Jesus.
These first of the martyrs of our Lord are honored
by the Cluu-ch on the 28th of December, and their feast
is one of those kept dm'ing an octave. She honors them
too by invoking them in the Litany of the Saints before
all other martyrs.
These holy children, baptized in their own blood, be-
came the patrons of the Catholic Church, which was
opened in November, 1866. Having thus a temporary
place for his flock, the Rev. Mr. Larkin l)egan to prepare
for the great and arduous work before him.
The confidence inspired b}' the spirit and devotion
of the Catholic population led him justly to plan a
clnu'ch, not for the moment merely, but one of such
jjroportions as to meet the wants of the parish for many
years to come, and of such beauty that the congregation
should not feel any desire for a nobler temple.
The corner-stone of the new church was laid on
340 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
the 20tli clay of Jime, 1869, by his Grace Ai-clibishop
McCloskey ; and after tlie venerable jirelate had blessed
the 25ri™ary stone, and, kneeling before the cross reared
amid the rising walls, recited the Litany of the Saints,
and with holy psalms placed the stone in position, the
Rev. Mr. Quinn, now Vicar General of the diocese, de-
livered an address, which was listened to -with earnest
attention by the vast multitude gathered on the auspi-
cious occasion.
The work on the church was then pushed on ^^gor-
ously, and the pastor and his flock Avere equally delighted
when the period apj^roached for its solemn dedication.
The position of the church is such that it can be
viewed so as to perceive its grand and striking j^ropor-
tious, making it a monument that attracts the eyes of all.
It is a Gothic structure, seventy feet wide by one hundi'ed
and thirty in depth, Ijuilt of Belleville stone, ornamented
with trimmings of lighter Ohio stone. In the fsi^ade
is an elegant stained-glass window in honor of St. Cecilia,
and in a niclie above, an exquisitely carved statue of
our Lord, wrought by an excellent sculptor in Milan.
There are tlu-ee spacious enti'ances, well lighted by orna-
mental lamps, for services late in the day. The interior has
three aisles, giving four ranges of pews. The galleries,
which increase greatly the seating room, are supported by
carved pillars, which arch gracefully to the roof There
are on each side eight large and seven clerestory win-
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 34I
tlows, all of stained-glass, insuring light and Aeutilation.
These were all gifts of parishioners.
The altar is of white marble, the altar-piece being
a Crucifixion in fresco by Bnimidi. At each side of
the altar stands a statue — the Blessed Virgin and St.
Joseph — alongside of which fine paintings can be seen, one
of them, a fine old canvas, shoAving the Massacre of
the PToly Innocents. There is also a side altar dedi-
cated to the Sacred Heai-t of Jesus, above which is a
painting of our Blessed Lord displaying his heart inflamed
with love for mankind. The church will comfortably
seat nearly fifteen hundi-ed people.
This fine structvu-e was dedicated on the 13th of
Febniary, 1870, by the Very Rev. William Starrs, then
Vicar General of the diocese. Mr. StaiTs preached on
the occasion, taking as his text the A\-ords of Genesis
xxviii. IG, 17, so aj^propriate to the occasion: "And
when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said : Indeed the
Lord is in this place, and I knew not. And trembling
he said : How temble is this jjlace. This is no other
but the House of God, and the gate of heaven."
The large attendance of clergy, the music of Merca-
dante rendered by a choir of forty-four voices, with the
swelling tones of the organ and accompanying instru-
ments, made the whole a scene to linger long in the
hearts and memories of all present.
At the vespers, in the evening, a brilliant and in-
342 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
teresting cliscour.se was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Boyle
of Washington, who, taking as his text St. Matthew
xviii. 20, dwelt on the faith of the Church as forniully
declared by the Fathers of the Vatican Council.
Including the site, the cluu'ch and school cost three
hundred and six thousand dollars, of which one hundred
and twenty -five thousand dollars are still unpaid. The
contribution of the amount alread}' paid, besides A^hat is
necessary each year for the maintenance of di\'ine wor-
ship and the schools, is most creditable to this new con-
gregation. Among the first and most generous subscrib-
ers were Eugene Kelly, James Wallace, Henry L. Hoguet,
Thomas and John Murphy, M. Fitzsimons, E. Martin, and
Thomas Maher.
The average attendance is aboiit five thousand; five
masses being said every Sunday, to enable ever}- member
of the congregation to fulfill the obligation of hearing
mass.
The parish school, which is directed by several Sis-
ters of Charity and eight lay teachers, numbers nine hun-
dred and fifty pupils.
There are sevei'al societies connected with the church,
one of the most important being the Building Associa-
tion, whose zeal may be seen in the fact that in one year
it raised ten thousand foiu- hundred dollars. Besides this
are the Temperance Society, R. H. Bermingham, President,
and the Ladies' Temperance Society, Neal Farrell, Presi-
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 343
dent; ;i Library Association, with a collection of" several
hnndred volumes ; an Altar Society ; while a Society
of tlie Sacred Heart, a Sodality of the Blessed Virgin,
and a Rosary Society, show how well every means is
employed to keep religion alive in the hearts of the
people.
The Church cannot Init excite general devotion to
the H0I3' Innocents. " Innocent victims," says the pious
1 hitler, "became the spotless Lamb of God. And how
gi-eat a happiness was such a death to these glorious
martyrs ! They deserved to die for Christ, though they
were not yet able to know or invoke his Name. They
were the flowers and the first fruits of his martyrs, and
triumphed over the world without having ever known
it or experienced its dangers. They just received the
benefit of life to make a sacrifice of it to God, and to
purchase by it eternal life. Almost at the same time
they began to live and to die ; they received fresh air
of this mortal life, fortln^•ith to pass to immortality ; and
it was their peculiar glory, not only to die for the sake
of Christ, and for justice and virtue, but also in the
place of Christ and in his . stead. How few, perhaps, of
these childi'en, if the}' had lived, would have escaped
the dangers of the world, which, by its maxims and
example, l)ear everything down before it like an impetuous
toiTent ! What snares ! what sins ! A\-hat miseries were
they preserved from by this grace ! Witli what songs of
344 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
praise and love do tliey not to all eteniit}- thank tlieir
Saviour and tins His infinite mercy to them!"
Roll of Honor.
CHURCH OF THE HOI.V INNOCENTS.
Bannon, Bridget, Mrs. Hoare, Thomas.
Brady, John. Jordan, Mary Jane.
Campion, James. Keenan, Joseph.
Clarkin, Bartholomew. Kehoe, Josepli.
Colwell, Patrick. King, Grace.
DeVere, Auguste. Kirby, A., Mrs.
Donohue, John. Larkin, Henry.
Fallon, John A. McKeon, Peter.
Feeley, William B., Mrs. McMahon, Mary Ann.
Fitzsimons, Michael. Maher, Thomas.
Fox, Thomas H. ' Mainey, George.
Hendrick, Edward. Welsh, John F.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 345
THE REV. JOHN LARKIN,
PASTOR OF THE CHUKCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS.
DEERPARK, in the Parish of Qiiansboro', County
of Galway, on the river Shannon in Irehind, is
the hirtliplace of the Rev. John Larkin, tlie second
priest of the name who has Labored in tlie ministry in
the Cathohc chiu'ches of New York. HaA-ing passed
through the grammar-school course, inchiding the classics
and mathematics, in his native place, he entered May-
nooth College in 1843, where he completed his divinity
course. At the instance of the Rev. John Kelly of
Jersey City he made America the field of his mission
labors, and in 1848 presented his credentials to Archbishop
Hughes, by whom he was kindly received. But, being
induced to move into the interior of the country, he was
ordained in Baltimore by Archbishop Eccleston, for the
Diocese of Pittsburgh. Immediately after his ordination
he was appointed by Bishop O'Connor to fill the posi-
tion of president of the seminary, during the temporary
absence of his l)rother (the present Bishop of Omaha)
on account of ill health. Subsequently the Rev. ^Ir.
Larkin was appointed to the missions of Freeport and
Clearfield, in the adjoining counties of Armstrong and
346 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
Butler. The church iu Freeport was uufinished and in
debt; there was no church in Cleai-tield. In a short
time, however, the cluu-ch in P'reeport was finished in a
handsome style, and paid for. In Cleai-field, where for-
merly the Holv Sacrifice was offered up in private houses
and barns, the neat church of St. John was built and
some twenty-five acres of land procured for the church.
Resident jjastors being appointed for each of these places.
Rev. Mr. Larkin was placed in charge of all the missions
of the County of Fayette, which embraced a large sec-
tion of the Alleghany Mountains. Diu-ing his stay here
he paid off the debts of the church at Uniontown, which
was much emliarrassed.
In 1855, Bishop O'Regan of Chicago visited Pitts-
burgh, and having heard of Rev. Mr. Larkin's (niergy and
devotedness, begged him to come to his aid in C-hicago,
where priests were very much needed. The necessary
permission being obtained by the Bishop, he consented.
On his annval in C'hicago he was taken as theologian
to the Provincial Council of St. Louis. At this council
an appeal was made to the bishops of the province for
the cathedral of Chicago, whose debts of thirty or forty
thousand dollars filled the bishop with consternation.
This appeal being favorably received, Rev. Mr. Larkin
was commissioned to collect, not only in St, Louis and
through the province, but also in New Orleans, Boston,
and other places. ,
CnURCH DF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. p,47
Havino- labored for nine months in this difHcnlt
field, he returned to Chicago iuid was appointed pas-
tor of Galena, Avhere an unfinished church was on tlic
eve of being sold for delit. The former Catholic cliurcli
had been desti-oyed l)y fire, and having been miinsured,
the Catholics were left without means or a ])ljice to wor-
ship. By great exertion the new church was sa^-ed to
the congregation. The prilicipal debt was paid, and the
church so far finished that the congregation were able to
use it.
After having established schools, and having placed
the congregation in a prosperous condition, the energetic
priest left the West and came to New York City in
1861, when he was again received by the Most Rev.
Archbishop Hughes, by whom he was made assistant at St.
Stephen's Chiirch. Shortly after, he was appointed b}' his
Eminence the Cardinal to the new parish of the Holy
Innocents, where he has built a Gothic church — one of
the largest and most beautiful in the city. His schools
rank among the first in the coimtry. He has also pro-
cured a pastoral residence and other parochial buildings.
The locality and the relations of these buildings to
each other constitute this one of the best appointed ec-
clesiastical properties in the Archdiocese.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
NINETY-SEVENTH STREET AND BROADWAY.
THE lioly ]iame of Jesus was to the disciples of
our Lord all powerful. lu it they cast out
devils, they cured diseases ; they made the bliud to see
and the lame to walk. They g-loried to suffer for it.
Our Lord had taught them that ■v'vhatever they should
ask in His name should be granted to them. Hence St.
Peter proclaimed to the Jews: "There is no other name
under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved ;"
and St. Paiil declared to the Gentile converts at Philippi
that " God hath given him a name which is above all
names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should
bow of those tliat are in heaven, on earth, and under
the earth."
The Church has taught her chikh-en to revere this
holy name, and to show their respect whenever it is
uttered ; she has set apart a Sunda}', soon after the feast
of the Circumcision, to honor it in an especial manner,
and by the Litany of the Holy Name she asks bless-
ing's through it.
A chm-ch dedicated to the Holy Name of our Lord
existed, as we have seen, for a brief period ; but a
350 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEAV YORK.
title so eniiiieiitly and peculiarly Catholic was not to l)e
lost.
When, in 1867, the Most Revei'encl Archbishop con-
fided to the Rev. Richard ]Ji"einian a new parish at
Bloomingdale, extending from Seventy-fifth to One Hun-
dred and Fifteenth Street, the pastor piously placed his
undertaking and his future church uiuler the powerful
protection of that name.
The Bhxjuiingdale Catholic Church Association was
organized — M. T. Brennan, Esq., President, Charles Dowd,
Secretary, and George Finuegan, Treasurer — and twenty-
(jue lots were secured on Ninety -seventh Street and
Broadwa}-, extending one hundred and forty-six feet in
depth to Tenth Avenue, giving space for church, schools,
and a presbytery. The site cost eleven thousand five
hundred dollars. But while the new church rose from the
ground, a frame building on Broadway, thirty-five feet
in front b}' eighty in dej^th, was imj^roved and en-
larged to become the temporary church of the Holy
Name. It was dedicated August 9, 1868; and here the
Holy Sacrifice was offered, imploring the protection of
heaven on the good work in that name to which such
promises of fulfillment were attached. The corner-stone
of the church was laid with the usual ceremonies, and
every exertion made to complete the church as rapidly
as it could be done, with due regard to solidity and
endurance.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 35I
Tlie suleiim deiliratiuii tuuk place on the 2()tli uf
December, 18GS. From far and near, in spite of the
Avintry weather, the Cathohcs flocked to the new cluirch,
\\liicli was densely filled. The Most Reverend Arch-
bishop McCloskey came to bless the church with holy
rite, assisted by the Rev. "Sh: McNeiniy, now Bishop of
Alban}', Rev. Messrs. Quinn, Hecker, McDowell, Kesseler,
Glackmejer, Boyce, and Brennan.
The i)rocession in imposing array moved down the
aisle and around the walls of the cluu'ch, which were
sprinkled and blessed to ask God to relieve them from
the curse of man's fall, and make them contribute, not to
the ruin but to the salvation of souls. The last notes
of the holy rite died away, the incense floated through
the air, as the procession retired. A Solemn High Mass
followed, in which the Rev. Mr. McNeirny was cele-
brant, Rev. Mr. McDowell of St. Michael's, deacon, and
Hey. Mr. Kesseler of St. Joseph's, subdeacon ; Rev. Mr.
Brady, as master of ceremonies, giving to all symmetr}- and
order. The Most Reverend Archbishop preached, taking
as his text the words of the Psalmist : "I rejoiced at
the things that were said me : We shall go into the
house of the Lord." (Psalm xxi. 1.) He dwelt on the
love of the Church for all that adds dignity to the wor-
ship of God, congratulated the congregation on their
courage in luidertaking so noble a structm-e, and urged
them to persevere till they saw their task completed.
352 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
After the mass a Te Deum was finely given, the
music being of a high order, St. Joseph's choir rendering
valuable assistance.
The church Avas attended by its reverend founder
for several years, gradually increasing in its numbers and
advancing in the practice of Christian duties under his
care. A mission given by the Paulist Fathers, in IMay,
1873, brought even the most lukewann to a sense of
their Clu-istian duties. The sermons and exhortations of
Rev. Messrs. Deshon, Dwyer, Elliot, and Rosecrans pro-
duced as immediate fruit a thousand communi(ins and a
new spirit of foitli.
In 1875, the Rev. Mr. Brennau A\as transferred by
his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey to the Church of St.
Rose of Lima, and the Rev. James Galligan, the jjres-
ent pastor, was installed at the Church of the Holy
Name, -^vhich has prospered in every way imder his care.
The pastors of the Holy Name omitted nothing to
interest the congregation in the church, by establishing
societies into which all might ha induced to enter. The
Rosary and Altar societies, the Children of Mary, the
Sodalities of the Holy Angels, the Holy Childhood, and
St. Aloysius, stimvilate the piety of all ages and classes.
The Young ]\Ieu's Literary Society affords those attaining
manhood the means of intellectual culture; the Conference
(jf the Society of St. Vincent de Paul blends them to-
gether in the great Avork of charity.
CilUKUlI OF THE HOLY NAME OE JESUS.
353
REV. JA:\[r:S M GALLIGAN,
PASTOR OF TlIK CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS.
^ f ^ilE pressent pastor of the Church of the Holy
I Name Avas born in the County Cavan, Irehmd,
and was educated at St. Patrick's College, in his native
diocese, one of the greatest of -the literary institutions
in Ireland. After he had pursued the course of studies
there for four years he resolved to make the United
States the field of his missionary labors, and havino-
come to this country he entered the Seminary of Our
Lady of the Angels, near the Suspension Bridge over
Niagara Falls. His course of studies was, however, sud-
denly interrupted here by an luitoward accident. The
institution was destroyed by fire on the 5th of December,
1864. He at once entered the College of St. Francis
Xavier, New York, where he was graduated with honor
in 1865.
Received as a student for the Diocese of New York,
he was sent to the Provincial Seminary in Troy, and
after his com-se of theological training was ordained in
that city, in June, 1868.
He was at once assigned to duty in St. Peter's
Church, New Brighton, Staten Island. After this he was
23
354 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
assistant in a chiu'ch of the same name at Poughkeepsie.
He was then stationed at the Church of the Holy In-
nocents, New York, where he rendered essential service
to the Rev. Mr. Larkiii, and is affectionately remembered
by the congregation.
He was appointed to the Chm-ch of the Holy Name
on the 20th of July, 1875, and has guided with singvdar
judgment a young and struggling church in these times
of financial depression, when distress on every side ap-
peals for the consolation of the minister of God, and
when of course the means of doing good are less boun-
tifully supplied.
He gives special attention to catechetical instructions,
and his Sunday-school mmibers nearly tlu'ee hundred
pupils, who are provided with a good library; besides
which there is also the Young People's Circulating Library
for those more developed.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER.
THIRD STREET.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER.
THIRD STREET, BETWEEN AVENUES A AND B.
o
THIS imposing clmrcli, dedicated to our Lord as
the Redeemer of Mankind, is tlie principal cliurcli
in tlie diocese of the rehgious order founded by St. Al-
phonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor. It would not be
easy to chronicle all that they have accomplished for the
ffood of souls since their introduction into the United
States. Their influence has been felt in every part of
the country, by the bishops, priests, and devout writers
whom they have given us.
Tlu'ee Fathers from Vienna came to this country in
1832, at the request of the Rt. Rev. Edward Fen wick.
Bishop of Cincinnati. The Indian missions, on which they
first entered, were not the field to which Providence des-
tined them ; but Avhen in 1839 they established a con-
vent in Pittsburgh, and in 1840 took charge of a German
congregation in Baltimore, their work seemed to b^ en-
dued with the most extraordinary vitality.
In 1842, the Diocese of New York first received Re-
demptorist Fathers. Here too the fast-increasing German
Catholic popidation became their special field. The Most
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY R^:DEEMER. 357
lu!^•l'l•elld Art'lil)i.sliop applied to the Rev. Father Alexan-
der Cvitclikowitz, Superior of the Redemptorists at Balti-
more, for Fathers, intending to place the Church of St.
Nicholas under their care, but when the Rev. Gabriel
Runipler came, the trustees declined to yield tlie churcli
to tlie order.
The ^lost Reverend Arcldjisliop was not iiu'lined,
however, to deprive his diocese of such a zealous com-
mimitv. With hi.s encouragement and sanction, Father
Rumpler purchased lots in Third Street. On these, in
1843, he erected a residence and school, and also a tem-
porary church. It was a long, plain frame Imilding, look-
ing more like a ropewalk than a church, as you came
in view of it ; but once you entered, you found yom--
self in a church, where all Avas piety, regularity, decorum,
and devotion.
This unpretending structure, one hundred and ten
feet long and fifty-three feet Avide, with two galleries, each
fifteen feet wide, was completed in seven weeks, when
once it was decided to erect a temporary structure for
immediate use, while the more substantial edifice could be
completed as means came in. It was solemnly dedicated
to the service of the Almighty God on ]\Ionday, April
8th, 1844, by Rt. Rev. John McCloskey, D.D., Coadjutor
Bishop of Ne-w York, under the invocation of our I\[ost
Holy Redeemer. The Avails and galleries Avere fairly hid-
den ill the CA-ergreens and floAvers Avhich adorned them.
358 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
A Pontifical High Mass followed the dedication ser-
vice, and a sermon was preached in the langnage of the
flock by the Rev. Father Rumpler. The German Cath-
olics of the district soon thronged the plain little frame
church, and the zeal of the religious soon excited, in
the most careless, higher and better feelings. It was
evident that a great and salutary step had been taken
for the spiritual welfare of the Gennan Catholics in New
York City.
Rev. Father Rumpler continued to mould his parish
into shape and organize it thoroughly, for several years.
In 1849" he was recalled to Baltimore, and the Rev.
Father Joseph Mueller was appointed to guide it. God
had so prospered their humble beginnings that the Re-
demptorists felt courage to commence the erection of a
church worthy of our exalted worship, for which no
building conceived by the genius of man or framed by
his skill in the materials God places in our control can
be too grand or noble.
Plans were accordingly prepared by a skillful arcliitect
for a fine church, and the comer-stone was laid, with
exact observance of the prescribed rites, bj- the Most Rev.
Archbishop Hughes, on the 21st of April, 1851.
The church, as planned by Mr. Walsh the architect,
rose rapidly, impressing all with its beauty and propor-
tions. To the Protestant mind it was a wonder. It
seemed some vast cathedral, not a mere jiarish cluu'ch
CHURCH OP THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER. 359
for Catholics of a single nationality. When completed, it
stood there indeed a remarkable pile. It is a beautifnl
specimen of the Greco-Roman or Byzantine style, eighty
feet wide, seventy feet high, and one hnndred and sixty-
seven feet in length. Four massive pillars divide the
front, and correspond to the chapels within. In the pil-
lars are niches for statues of heroic size. The interior
or middle pillars rise thu'ty-four feet above the side pil-
lars, and above these shoots *a spire a hundred and
forty-six feet higher, its cross two himdred and fifty feet
from the ground. There are three doors in the front,
surmounted by richly ornamented gables decorated with
chamfers and niches. The middle door has eighteen feet
span, and is twenty-four feet high. Above this is a
middle window thirty-seven feet high — pouring tlu-ough its
stained glass a mello^v light on the galleries — and side
windows in happy proportion, supported by beautifully
tmiied columns.
Three domes rise over the altars to a height of
sixty-one feet ; the central one crowned by a belfry
capped by a cross. There are tlu-ee naves, with massive
pillars ranged on either side, supporting its many arches
and the groined and richly-corniced roof of azm-e set
with stars.
In the basement there is a fine chapel, nearly square
in form.
Such was the church that the Redemptorist Fathers
360 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
prepared for solemn dedication on tlie 28th of November,
1852. At an earl}' lionr vast crowds gathered, but the
space in front of the clnux-h ^vas kept clear by the
German Independent Rifles, and by the various benevo-
lent societies, not only of New York, Ijut of Brooklyn,
Albany, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, each with banners
and badges.
The dedication ceremony was performed by the Most
Reverend Archbishop Hughes, attended by the Rt. Rev.
John M. Neumann, D.D., C.SS.R., Bishop of Philadeli)hia;
Rt. Rev. John McCloskey, D.D., Bishop of Albany; Rt.
Rev. Richard V. Whelan, D.D., Bishop of Wlieeling;
the Rt. Rev. Dr. jMosquera, Bishop of Bogota ; with a
multitude of priests and acolytes. The altars were then
adorned and a Solemn High Mass celebrated.
After the gospel, the Rt. Re^'. Dr. McCloskey of
Albany ascended the pulj^it and preached an eloquent
sermon, taking his text from the Apocalypse, 21st chapter,
2d and 3d verses: "And I saAv the Holy City, the New
Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven pre-
pared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard
a great voice from the throne saying : Behold a taber-
nacle of God ^^•ith men, and he "s^ill ihxeW Avith them.
And they shall l)e his people: and CJod himself with them
shall be their God."
"It is natural, l)eloved brethren, that the sentiments
which are uppermost within the breast shoidd be the first
CIU'RCII OF THE I\[OS'r IIoJ^Y KKDEKMEK. p^CA
to seek for utterance; ;ui(I therefore is it that the words
A\liich 1 am prompted to address to you upon this truly
joyful occasion are words of sincere and eaiiiest cong-ratu-
lation. I congratulate you upon the arrival of this long
wished- for day. I congratulate the illustrious Archbishop,
who honors you ^\•ith liis presence, and who has the con-
sol:;tion to hcliold, this day, another beautiful and glo-
rious temj)le raised to the lionor of the living Clod and
adorning his ^Metropolitan See. I congratulate in a special
manner the zealous and pious Fathers AA-hose hearts
more than any others must at this moment overflow
Avith feelings of thanksgiving and joy in this happy ac-
complishment of their labors, their sacrifices, and their
toils. I congratitlate you, faithful and generous German
people, and I congratulate all Avho ai-e brought Avithin
these noAV halloAved Avails and in the presence of this
ncAvly consecrated altar, to join in one common chorus
of jubilation their imited tribute of praise and j)rayer
and thanks. A good Avork has been successfully accom-
plished. A labor of loA'e has been happily achieved.
Here on this spot, by the side of that rude and simple
temple in AA-hich but yesterday you Avorshiped together,
there rises in beauteous and striking contrast Avith it —
an evidence not only of your increasing numbers, but
also of your increasing generosity and zeal — a grand
and glorious temple, fair in its proportions, majestic in its
parts, honorable to the mind that conceiA'ed and designed
362 CATHOLIC CHUliCHES OF NEW YORK.
it, creditable to tlie hands by whose industry it was raised,
and more especially to those by whose toils and sacrifices
it has been brought to this crowning work here standing,
and to stand a monument of Catholic generosity and
Catholic zeal existing in the hearts of the people. This
is the temple of God, to be bequeathed as a precious
legacy to your children, and yoiu" children's childi'en, Avho,
in ages to come, shall gather around this same altar and
offer up their fervent praise and prayers and bless the
names and memories of their fathers. In all this, then, my
beloved bretlu-en, there is just cause for my congratula-
tions, and abundant cause likewise for your joy. Yet
this, after all, fomis but a small portion of the i-enl and
more exalted reason for the festivity of this great day.
You rejoice, and we all rejoice, because that upon this
day this temple has been solenmly and religiously con-
secrated to the worship of the one true and ever-living
God. It was for Him that you have reared it. It is
to Him that j^ou have this day offered it ; and it is
therefore to the God of Heaven, who has this day ac-
cepted your offering, and He will come full soon to
give the evidence thereof He Avill come Himself to
take possession of His sanctuary. He Avill come Himself
to make it here His tabernacle — a tabernacle of God with
men, where He shall be their God, and they shall be
His people. The tokens of His presence will be given,
not indeed as they Avere of old, in the fire that de-
CHURCH OF THE MOST ]I()LY REDEEMER. 363
scended from lieaven to consume the sacrifice, nor in the
coming- down in a cloiul, filling- the temple awfully and
terribly with His majesty, so that the priest could no
longer adnunister therein, oppressed with the excess of
g-lory ; but He will come with His divinity sliadowed and
His glory veiled. He will come, even with a real and
more abiding- presence. He will come in the humble
garb of His humanity. He will come as a father and
a friend to invite us to appro;ich Ilim, to allow us to
draw near, to listen to om* prayers, to hear our sighs,
and to receive us to His own loving embrace. And,
oh! my brethren, it is this great and mighty truth of
Catholic faith that raises every Catholic heart on this
proud day. It is this great truth of the real and abid-
ing presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrifice and the sac-
rament of our altars, that is the true heart, the true life-
spring of C-atholic piety and Catholic faith. It is this
that is the source and centre of all our aspiirations, of
aU oiir desires, and of all our love. It is this that is
the source of all that is g-rand, and all that is beautiful,
and all that is majestic, and all that is holy in the
Catholic Church — that spouse coming down from lieaven
prepared as a bride for her husband; and when God has
chosen His tabernacle. He will be with }-ou, Aour God,
and you will be His people.
*
As your pious fathers, in tlie lands of youi* birth.
364 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
raised yovi those glorious and majestic })iles in honor of
their faith, and in attestation of their piety and zeal,
so here noAv, in this new land in which God lias placed-
you — where He has blessed the fruit of j'our hands
and the sweat of your brow — you will show that there
is within you the same faith ; that the same generosi-
ty burns in your bosoms, and that there is the same
zeal in all your actions and in all your thoughts. Oh !
then let us rally roiuid that altar and around that sac-
rament. Let us encircle it, not only with material bodies,
but with souls full of faith, and full of piety and zeal.
Let us love it. Let us come to it in our wants, in our
misery, and even in our sin, tliat there we lufiy be
strengthened, that there we may be pm-ified, that there
we may be made whole, and that so at all times we
may worship within its temple here, so that in another
day we may be made worthy to Avorship in that other
temple, where, brought into the light and brightness of
God's OAA'u glorious presence, and prostrate before the
altar of Go<l, we may join in chortis Avith cherubim and
seraphim and archangels and angels :
" Amen. Benediction and honor and glory and
jjraise and wisdom and j'ower and diAinity be to Him
who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb forcA^er."
The chiu'ch, in spite of its vast size, was soon fuUv
attended, and school-houses adajited to the Avants oi a
large congregation speedily greAA' up beside the House of
CIIUJICII OF THE JIOST JIOLY liKDKinrEI!. 3,^5
God. Tliat tor the l)oys was umler tlic v:\vv df tlic I;i\-
teachers, wliile the girls were phiced under the du-ection
of the experienced School Sisters of Notre Dame. The
present school-house was blessed in November, 1873.
The convent attached to the church was not merely
for the Fathers in charge of the congregation, but was
the residence of several devoted especially to the great
work of giving missions in the various churches through-
out the country, to Avhich they were invited, in order,
by their series of sermons, instructions, and private con-
ferences, to arouse the faith of Catholics by a clear
explanation of their doctrine and duties, and the respon-
sibility resting on each. Protestants anxious to know the
real faith and practice of Catholics often attended these
instructions, and a mission seldom closed Avithout seeing
the Fathers receive some soul, long tossed with doubt,
into the peaceful haven of the Church. The Redemptor-
ists began their first English missions in 1851, and have
left the impress of their labors in all parts. The Mis-
sion Book, to keep alive the fruit of the mission, was
published, and has been circidated by hundreds of
thousands.
Their convents are also oi)en for i)rivate retreats by
men who wish to devote a few days to self-examina-
tion and prayer.
The rectors of the Church of the Most Holy Re-
deemer, after the Rev. Father Mueller, have been: —
366 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
1854, Rev. Joseph Helmpraecht, C.SS.R
1860, Aug., Rev. R. Kleineidam, C.SS.R., ad interim.
1861, Feb., Rev. Laurence Holzer, C.SS.R.
1862, May, Rev. Leopold Petscii, C.SS.R.
1865, May, Rev. Maximilian Leimgruber, C.SS.R.
1871, June, Rev. Joseph Wirth, C.SS.R.
1877, July, Rev. Thaddeus Anwander, C.SS.R.
Tlie parochial scliools at present contain six hundred
and ten boys, under eight Brothers of IMary, and five
hundi-ed girls under the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
The same Sisters conduct an excellent academy for
young ladies at No. 218 East Fom-th Street, where sixty
pupils pursue the highest branches of education.
Attached to the church are the Ai-chconfratemity of
the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Conversion of Sinners;
the Confraternity of the Holy Family; Rosary, Purgato-
rian and Altar societies, with several sodalities.
The Reverend Fathers at an early peinod found that
there was an especial want for an orphan asylum for
the children of German parentage. This led to the estab-
lishment of the St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, now at
Eighty -ninth Street and Avenue A, imder the School
Sisters of Notre Dame. St. Francis Hospital, Nos. 407-409
Fifth Street, is noAv imder the care of the Sisters of
the Poor of St. Francis ; and also receives the spiritual
ministration of the Redemptorists. It contains about two
hundred patients, attended by thirty Sisters.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER. 3G7
REV. THADDEUS ANWANDER, C.SS.R.,
RECTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER.
T
PIE Rev. Father Thaddens Anwander, of the Con-
o-reffation of the Most llolv Redeemer, an order
of missionary priests founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori,
B.C.D., was born at Wendelheim, in Bavaria, in the
Diocese of Angsbnrg, October 28th, 1823. He made his
early studies under the Benedictines at tlieir college in
Avigsbiu'g, but completed his philosophical and theolog-
ical studies at Freiburg, in Switzerland. He came to the
United States on the 8th of January, 1845, and was
ordained priest by the Most Reverend Samiiel Eccleston,
Ai'chbishop of Baltimore, December 6th, 1846.
He was then employed on missions of his order in
varioxis parts — for several years in Baltimore, chiefly at
St. Michael's Church ; then in New Orleans, where he
was for some years Superior ; then, after a time spent
in Cumberland, again in Baltimore.
On the 26th of October, 1868, he was made rector
of St. James' Convent, connected with the chm'cli of that
name, on Aisquith and Eager Streets, Baltimore. Subse-
quent to this we find him at the Convent and House
3fi8 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of Studies at Ilchester, Maryland, at the new mission at
Cliatawa, Mississippi, where he was Superior; rector of
the Convent of St. Joseph at Rochester in 1874, holding
that position till his appointment, in July, 1877, as rector
of the Convent of the Most Holy Redeemer in New
York.
It will be seen that he brings to his position as pas-
tor of this important church, the experience of more than
thirty years spent in the active duties of a missionary
life, in all the various forms of priestly labor; and more-
over, that administrative talent which has placed him dur-
ing the last ten years almost constantly in important
situations as superior of houses and missions.
He is also a member of the Council of his Emi-
nence as Archbishop of New York.
The community at the convent, No. 173 Third
Street, in 1878, comprises, beside the rector, the Rev.
Robei't Kleineidam, C.SS.R.; the Rev. Rhabanus Preis,
C.SS.R.; the Rev. Charles Kuenzer, C.SS.R.; the Rev.
Charles Sclimidt, C.SS.R.; the Rev. ]\Iatthias Kuborn,
C.SS.R.; the Rev. John T. Blanche, C.SS.R.; the Rev.
James Rein, C.SS.R.
CHUKCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
EAST FOUETKUNTH STREET.
24
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
EAST FOUKTEENTH STREET.
IN view of the increasing number of Catholics on
the east side of the city, the Most Reverend
Archbishop Hughes, in 1853, secvired lots for a new
chvirch, which were, however, subsequently exchanged for
the site now occupied by the Church of the Immaculate
Conception.
The late Sovereign Pontiff, the great Pius IX., on
the 8th of December, 1854, declared it to be of faith
that the Blessed Virgin Mary was never subject to orig-
inal sin — that she was conceived without sin, and was
thus ever immaculate. Such had been the constant be-
lief in the Chvirch, though not distinctly defined. The
faithful tlu-ougliout the world showed their love and de-
votion to Mary, hailing this act of the Vicar of Chi'ist
as a new crown of glory to their beloved patroness.
Archbishop Hughes resolved to erect on the site already
acquired a chm-ch of the Immaculate Conception as a
monmnent of the great act of Pius IX.
On the 15tli of June, 1855, he appointed the Rev.
Bernard Farrelly to commence the work. He was a
young clergyman recently ordained, zealous and active.
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 371
lie collected the Catholics of his district in a temporar}-
clmrch on Fifteenth Street, on the 15th of August, and
.began collecting money to erect the chiu-ch. Plis health,
hoM^ever, failed, and early in the autumn he was com-
pelled to resign the undertaking.
On the 2oth of October, the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop confided the undertaking to the Rev. John Ryan,
an active and zealous priest who had already organized
the first church at Yonkers, and erected the Church of
St. Francis Xavier in New York Citv.
He undertook the task of building up a chui-ch in
the parochial district assigned to him, with all the zeal
he had displayed in other fields. He soon enlarged the
temporary chapel, in order to accommodate the fliithful
and give all the opportunity of hearing mass.
Meanwhile the corner-stone of the new church was
laid with appropriate ceremonies by the Very Rev.
William Starrs, on the 8th of December, 1855, the
Archbishop being absent. It was a time of financial
distress and panic. Thousands were unemployed, and
it was difficult to undertake and carry on the most
essential work. The Rev. Mr. Ryan went on collect-
ing for two years, pushing on the work of his church
meanwhile. The ladies, to honor the Blessed Virgin by
a fair, in November, 1857, contributed not a little to aid
him in his work. The fair was held in the new chm-ch,
and was visited b}- the Most Reverend Ai'chbishop.
372 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOEK.
He ascended the platform wliere the altar was soon to
be erected, and addi-essed the large audience gathered
there to hear him. He expressed his deUght at their
number and at the beauty of the church. "It is a
proof," he said, " of your faith and yom- zeal to pro-
mote so noble a work. When the dogma of which the
chui'ch is to be a memorial and a monument was pro-
claimed as an article of faith, I was but four or five
feet distant from the Hoi}' Father. Just at that moment
I resolved on my return to New York to erect a church
to commemorate the e^^ent. I kneAv that the Catholics
of this city would enable me to carry out that resolu-
tion, but I desire especially that the ladies of New York
— the childi'en, the daughters of Mary — shall have the
credit and honor of this church, raised as a monument
of the Immaculate Conception. I feel happy that I liave
not been deceived or disappointed. How consoling to
those who have contributed to this church, as well as to
those who conduct and patronize this fair, to reflect that
when they and all of us have passed away, and are con-
signed to our last resting-place, to make way for another
generation, many a heart will coiue before the altar to be
here erected, burdened with a load of misery, to send peti-
tions from this shrine to the tin-one of gi'ace and mercy —
that many such a heart will depart from here lightened
of its burden, full of joy, of peace, and happiness."
Thus encouraged, the fair met with great sviccess,
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 373
so that the good jiastor was enabled to complete his
cluirch. It was dedicated May 16th, 1858. The Most
Reverend Archbishop, interested in a work which he had
suggested and encouraged, came in person to bless the
work, accompanied by the Rt. Rev. John Loughlin, D.D.,
Bishop of Brooklyn, and the Rt. Rev. John Bairy, D.D.,
Bishop of Savannah. Besides the pastor of the new
church and his assistant, the Rev. Eugene Maguire, there
were present clergymen from nearly all the city churches.
The ceremony of dedication took place at eight
o'clock, with the usual imposing eifect, and the edifice of
stone and brick was no longer a common house, but a
temple sacredly set apart for the service of the Living
God under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
conceived without sin.
The awful sacrifice of the mass was soon offered
with solemn pontifical rite at the newly hallowed altar, by
the Right Reverend Bishop Loughlin of Brooklyn, with
deacon and subdeacon. His Grace Archbishop Hughes
then delivered a sermon, taking as his text the words
of the Psalmist: "How lovely are thy tabernacles, O
Lord of hosts. My soul longeth and fainteth for the
coiu-ts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have re-
joiced in the living God. For the sparrow hath found
herself a house: and the turtle a nest for herself, where
she may lay her young ones. Thy altars, 0 Lord of
hosts: my king, and my God." (Psalm Ixiii. 2-4.) After
374 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
dwellino- on the nature of tlie consecration and dedica-
tion of chnrches, lie said: "This chnrcli has i-eceived
not merely the ordinary blessing-. There is a most im-
portant consideration to be addeil to the sacred ceremony.
It is the tirst chui-ch on earth -\vliich has been set apart
to the honor of the dogmatical doctrine of the immacu-
late nature of the ^fother of Christ. The clnu-ch is
doubtless dedicated, as all others are, to the Supreme
Being, but it is placed under the sjiecial care of the
Blessed Virarin as Mary Innnaculate. It is the first
sacred consecration to the truth of the Innnaculate Con-
ception— to the declaration that the IIol}- Virgin was
never sullied by any taint of original sin." He then
explained the doctrine, so generall}' misunderstood ; went
over the ceremony of dedication, and showed how con-
sonant it Avas with Scripture and the earl}' records of
Christendom. " For so miworthy a minister of Christ
as myself," he continued, " I think it sufficient happi-
ness that I have lived to see this last great evidence
of the mercy of God to man })ronoiinced as a doctrine
by the Head of the Church on earth. I had the hap-
piness to be present at the time that the Innnaculate
Conception was so declared, and I could not help think-
ing even then how well it would be for the Catholics
of New York to consecrate a temple to God in honor
of the event — an event for which every pious Christian
can never cease to ])less God."
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. r.75
The zealous founder of the church rem.iined its
pastor till his death, March 22d, 1861. He had been
assisted during his pastorship by the Rev. Messrs. Mc-
Evoy, Lutz, Maguire, and Oliver O'Hara. The Rev. Dr.
AVilliam Plowden j\Iorrogh Avas then appointed, and his
pastorship extended till his death, in Italy, October 23d,
1875. During his long incumbency he Avas assisted by
the Rev. Messrs. C. A. Farrell, P. J. Maguire, John J.
Hughes, George C. j\Iiu-phy, and Patrick ]\Ialone.
Dr. Mon'Ogh was a priest of learning and ability,
who went from St. Joseph's Seminary to the Propa-
ganda, where he won his doctor's cap. On his return, he
was President of St. Joseph's Theological Seminary and
pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy.
He erected, early in 1864, a fine school-house adjoin-
ing the church, and fm-nished it thoroughly. Finding
the church too small, he began, about 1871, to extend
it to Fifteenth Street. NotAvithstanding his failing health,
he was able to complete this Avork, making it one of the
finest chiu'ches in the city. The altar is of marble, sur-
mounted by four stained chancel AvindoAvs; on Avliich are
representations of the Saviour, the Blessed Virgin, St.
Joseph, and St. Ann. Under these Avindows are statues
of the Blessed Virgin and child, St. Catharine, St. Teresa,
St. Peter, and St. Paul. Handsome altars, dedicated to
St. Joseph and the Virgin, stand at either side of the
grand altar, while figui-es of St. Patrick, St. Vincent de
376 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
Paul, St. Andrew, and St. Bridget, decorate the stained
windows at either side of the sanctuary.
The assistants during the term of Dr. Morroffh were
the Rev. Richard Brennan, Rev. Clu-istopher A. Farrell,
Rev. William Hussey, Rev. F. St. John, Rev. J. Pro-
fillat. Rev. P. McGruire, Rev. John Hughes, Rev. George
C Murphy, Rev. P. Malone, and Re^'. John S. Colton.
The church has, since 1875, had as parish priest
the Rev. Jolin Edwards, who is assisted in his arduous
duties by the Rev. Patrick Malone, the Rev. John Doyle,
the Rev. Denis P. OTlynn, and the Rev. Edward
Slattery.
The parish schools, organized soon after the erection
of the church, have been fostered with zealous care.
The boys, who number nine hundred and twenty-six, are
under the direction of seventeen lay teachers, while the
girls, who are guided by the Sisters, number eleven
hundred and thirty-six. The Catholic population of the
parish, by actual count in 1878, was 16,940.
There are many flourishing societies connected with
the church — the Ladies' Sodality of the Blessed Virgin,
the Sodalities of the Holy Infancy, of the Holy Angels,
of the Holy Name ; the Living Rosary, Sodality of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Young Men's Immaculate Concep-
tion Sodality, St. Aloysius Sodality, the Immaculate Con-
ception Mutual Benefit Temperance Society, and Confer-
ence of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
CIlURGll OF TUE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 377
REV. JOHN EDWARDS,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
THE energetic pastoi- of tlio populous parish of the
Immaciihite Conception was bom in KiUaloe,
in the County Ch^re, Ireland, and was baptized in the
chiu'ch of his native place on the 12th of January, 1833.
His early education w-as received in the local schools ;
but when the family, in the spring- of 1849, emigrated to
this country, he came to the land which figures so brightly
in the di'eanis of many a youth.
His father settled at Hartford, where the vounff man
spent the next four }"ears ; then, eager to continue his
studies, he came to New York. After three years, his wishes
were realized, by his entering the College of St. Francis
Xavier. Here he became an earnest student, and so at-
tracted the attention of the Fathers by liis faculty for
teacliing that he was induced to take charge of one of
the classes of the college
Here he remained until the fall of 1864, when, anx-
ious to complete his theological coiu-se, he entered the
Provincial Seminai-y at Troy, which had just been opened.
He passed rapidly tlu-ough his com'se, was ordained sub-
deacon in May, 1866, and appointed by tlie Bishop
treasiu-er of the Seminary. He received the order of
378 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
deacon on August 16tli, and was ordained ])riest by the
present Cardinal Archbishop, on Angtist 17th, 1866.
He continued to labor in the senunary for seven
years. When he returned to New York, he was sent to
help the good Dr. Morrogh at the Church of the Imma-
culate Conception.
The heavy cares of the pastorate, and his untiring
exertions in the cause of Catholic education, so told upon
the doctor's health that he was compelled to seek rest
abroad. The Rev. Mr. Edwards was appointed to take his
place and continue his work ; and on the death of the
doctor, which occurred the following j^ear, at Albano,
Italy, he became his successor.
Devoted for so many years to the cause of education,
he could not be indifferent to the wants of the children
in the parish. The school-house erected by the zeal of
Dr. Morrogh, and the generosity of his ])eople, immense as
it seemed, proved inadequate when Rev. Mr. Edwards, by
actual count, learned the number of adults and chikh-en in
his district. He resolved that not a Catholic child of the
parish of the Immaculate Conception should remain outside
his schools for want of proper accommodations. He has re-
cently obtained a tenement house in the rear of the paro-
chial school, and by remo%nng the partitions and putting it
in proper condition, is able to accommodate four hundi-ed
more children ; and yet, at the beginning of 1878, the
schools contained over two thousand children, under
twenty-eight teachers.
CHURCH OF THE IMiAIAOULATE CONCEPTION. 379
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR
[EAST FOURTEENTH STREET.]
Alslieiiiier, Andrew.
/Vrcher, John.
Brady, Patrick.
Brown, James.
Burns, Timothy.
Butler, Margaret, Mrs
Casey, Hugh.
Conaghy, Patrick.
Connelly, Mary A
Corrigan, William.
Costigan, James.
Cunningham, John.
Cunningham, Patrick
Dalton, Thomas.
Daly, Thomas.
Donlan, Michael J.
Duffy, Nicholas.
Egan, Michael.
Pagan, John.
Fagan, Thomas.
Finnen, John.
Gallagher, William.
Gibney, James.
Gillespie, Peter.
Goggin, Joseph R.
Golden, Michael.
Goodman, Patrick.
Gough, Michael.
Grinnon, Lawrence.
Hayes, Michael.
Higgins, James F.
Hirchy, Denis.
Mrs. Hughes, John.
Hurley, John.
Keegan, Patrick.
Kelly, Owen.
Kelly, Patrick.
Kelly, Thomas.
Knape, Carl A.
Lestrange, John.
Loonan, Thomas.
Lynch, John.
McCabe, Charles F.
McCann, John.
McDermott, Philip.
McGough, Terence.
McGuire, Bartholomew.
Mclnerny, William.
McQuade, .Arthur J.
Masterson, Patrick.
Maxcy, D.
Mohan, James.
Monaghan, Thomas F.
Moore, James.
Moore, James, Mrs.
Mulcahy, Edward.
Mulready, Owen.
O'Brien, Hugh.
O'Connell, John.
O'Hare, Henry.
Purcell, Thomas.
Raymond, George.
Reilly, Thomas B.
Relger, Thomas.
Rowe, Thomas.
Rush, Sebastian.
Skelly, James Joseph.
Smith, Honora, Mrs.
Timoney, Francis.
Tracey, John.
Trainor, James.
Wiegers, Eliza, Mrs.
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTV'-FIRST STREET AND THIRD AVENUE,
MELROSE.
IN the year 1852, the Rev. Caspar Metzler, a Ger-
man pi-iest, then recently added to the diocese,
began, with the encouragement of the Most Reverend
Ai-clibishop, to collect his Catholic countrymen who had
settled in what was then knoAvn as Melrose, a new
town in Westchester County. The parishioners were
neither numerous nor largely endowed with this w^orld's
goods ; but, rejoicing to have a priest to minister to
them, they erected a little wooden church, and some
years later built a brick house for the residence of their
pastor.
The chm-ch was dedicated May 29th, 1853, to the
Immacvilate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mar}^, by
the reverend pastor, assisted by other clergymen who
came to encourage him in his good but modest work.
In this humble slu-ine the Catholics continued to meet
for several years, Rev. Mr. Metzler remaining their parish
priest till the year 1864, when he was succeeded by the
Rev. M. W. Kaider, who remained about two years.
The Rev. Francis Karel, now chaplain of the Missionary
382 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Sisters of St. Francis at Peekskill, was parish priest till
1872, when the Most Reverend Archbishop confided the
mission to the Rev. Joseph Stnmpe. He found the
church far too small for the congregation which had
grown up there ; and, though tolerable as a temporary
chapel, not such an edifice as his congregation should
be able to show as an evidence of their attachment to
the faith, and of their sense of the dignity of the divine
worship.
Before he had been many years in the parish, the
question was agitated of annexing to New York City
the southern part of Westchester County. This project
was finally carried out, and in the running of new
streets and grades, the very existence of the old chm-ch
was endangered. One Hundred and Fifty-first Street was
cut down some twenty-five feet, making the position of
the old church and the pastoral residence extremely
dangerous, so that the former had to be torn down,
while steps were taken to move the house.
The reverend pastor did not proceed rashly, as his
congregation was not a wealthy one, and the times were
extremely difficult, many being unemployed and con-
strained to use every economy, who, under other cir-
cumstances, would have given generously to so sacred a
cause. But there was pressing want of a school-house ;
and, bad as the times were, the Rev. Mr. Stumpe had
felt that this could no longer be deferred. He accord-
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 383
iiigly began the erection of St. Mary's Literary Institute,
a commodious school-house, on One Hundred and Fifty-
first Street, which he completed in the year 1875. It is
one lumdred and seventy-five feet in front b}' sixty in
depth. In view of the necessity of abandoning the old
chapel, the Rev. Mr. Stumpe fitted up the second floor
of the new edifice as a very beautiful little chaj^el.
On Sunday, October 3d, 1875, this little church, to
the joy of the Catholics of Melrose, Avas solemnly dedi-
cated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. The Rt. Rev. Thomas A. Becker, D.D., Bishoj) of
Wilmington, Delaware, performed the ceremony, many of
the city clergy, with the Very Rev. William Quiim, Ad-
ministrator of the Diocese during the absence of the
Cardinal, being present. After the chant of the Litany
and Psalms had ceased, and the prayer been said which
gave that place to God's service and asked the Al-
mighty to remove far from it the cm-se which by
Adam's sin fell on all things, a Solemn High Mass was
offered on the new blessed altar.
The Right Reverend Bishop of Wilmington officiated
pontifically, with the Rev. F. W. Gockeln, S.J., President
of St. John's College, as assistant priest; Rev. J. Sorg of
Tremont as deacon. Rev. J. B. Bogaertz of New Orleans
as subdeacon, and the Rev. Mr. Stumpe, the pastor of
the church, as master of ceremonies. The music for the
occasion was of a high order. Weber's Mass in G was
384 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
finely rendered by the choir; while at the Offertory
Verdi's "0 Salutaris" was sung mth great feeling.
After the gosjjel, the Rev. Dr. McGlynn of St. Ste-
phen's Cluu'ch preached, taking as his text, "I am the
Bread of Life." (St. Jolni vi.) At the close of the holy
sacidfice the Bishop gave his episcopal benediction.
The new ^^art of New York was thus dedicated to
the Immaculate Conception, as the old city had already
been. Besides the two chm-ches thus named to honor
her especial privilege, other churches attest the devotion
of New York to the Mother of God. Besides St. Mary's,
there are the Church of the Annunciation, the Church
of our Lady of the Rosary, the Chm-cli of the Mother
of Son-ows, the Church of the Assumption.
While preparing to erect the church which is to
bear the same title that the parish has noAv assumed,
the reverend pastor has labored to bring his schools up
to the highest standard of excellence. He may not be
able to lay together the stones of a material temple,
but he can form the living members for the chm'ch of
the next generation, without '\\-hom, well instructed and
grounded in the faith, the finest cluu-ch must in a few
years become vacant and deserted.
His school for boys is under the care of the expe-
rienced Brothers of the Clnistian Schools, and number
two hundred and thirty ; the girls' school, somewhat more
numerous, with three hundred pupils, is taught by Sisters
CHURCH or THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 385
of Christian Charity, a community founded in Germany
by the Countess Malinkrodt, the sister of the great Cath-
oHc leader. Driven from Germany hke so many other
Catholic religious, of both sexes, by a ruler who dis-
graces the nineteenth century by persecuting and hound-
ing down women for religion's sake, these good ladies
sought a refuge in America, and have made Melrose their
first house, connecting in om- land the exercises of the
convent life with the name of Scotland's fairest abbey.
The new clnu-ch to be erected on the spot already
hallowed by so frequent an offering of the unbloody
sacrifice, will be a fine Gothic church of cruciform style,
presenting to the view a front of eighty-four feet; and
as you enter the portal, a nave of one hunch-ed and
eighty-four feet in length will lead up to the holy altar.
Roll of Honor
Ahrens, Michael.
Alf, John.
Ambach, Conrad.
Amon, George.
Andreas, John.
Angerich, Joseph.
Anton, Peter.
Arnold, Susanna.
Bachmann, John.
Bauer, Ernest.
Bauer, M.
Becker, Michael.
Bender, Joseph.
Brandt, George.
Biichelberger, Bernhard.
Buhr, Nicliolas.
Burkhardt, George.
Burkhardt, Michael.
Curley, Bridget.
Dennerlein, John.
Driever, William.
Egbert., Joseph.
Englert, Sebastian.
Evans, William.
Faulhaber, J.
Fisher, Frank.
Frey, Joseph.
Frohnhofer, Lorenz.
Geiger, Michael.
Geller, M.
386 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Gliick, William.
Lanzer, Louis.
Sauter, Vinzenz.
Greubel, John.
Lebert, John.
Schaefer, Peter.
Greubel, Nicholas.
Leifer, Reinhardt.
Schiesser, John.
Giintling, John.
Loeble, Isidor.
Schmidt, Adam.
Hafifen, Carl.
Lucht, John.
Schneider, George.
Haffen, John.
Martin, Nicholas.
Schonhardt, Wendelein.
Hafifen, Matthias.
Massert, Franz.
Schott, John.
Hauswald, Anton.
Mayberger, Joseph.
Schiissler, Casper.
Hecht, Babtist.
Meckel, John.
Schwabius, George.
Hecht, Catharine.
Mehlem, John.
Seufert, Catharine, Mrs.
Hefele, Henry.
Meise, Henry A.
Smith, Gregory.
Hefele, Joseph.
MerkHnger, Catharine.
Spiehler, Anton.
Hefele, Simon.
Messerschmitt, Adam.
Staab, Adam.
Heilmann, Elizabeth.
Messerschmitt, Joseph.
Steinacker, Peter.
Henning, Amelia.
Messinger, Jacob.
Straub, Joseph.
Herd, Nicholas.
Meyer, Anton.
Stumpf, Casper.
Hester, Lorenz.
Meyer, Franz.
Stye, Franz.
Hoffmann, John.
Miller, Frederick.
Tonner, John.
Hohn, Henry.
Miller, Jacob. '
Tonner, Nicholas.
Hubert, John.
Miller, John.
Trotter, George J.
Hutzler, George.
Nagengast, George.
Truhe, August.
Illig, Catharine.
Newett, Ignatius.
Unlandherm, H., Mrs.
lUig, Maria.
Nimphius, John.
Vetter, Franz.
Kaiser, John.
Norz, John.
Vogel, Jacob.
Kaiser, William.
Oprecht, J. G.
Vogler, George.
Kalsch, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Piatt, Peter.
Volkoramer, Peter.
Karl, John.
Pregenzer, Henry.
Vorndran, C.
Kaufmann, Michael.
Pregenzer, Philip.
Wagner, John.
Knauer, John.
Preiser, Peter.
Walter, Simon.
Kneipel, Frederick.
Reis, Andreas.
Weber, George.
Krebs, Carl.
Reis, Lorenz.
Werdehoff, Anton.
Kretzer, Casper.
Reis, Peter.
Werthmann, Gottfried.
Krewet, John.
Ritter, Christian.
Wey, Peter.
Kullmann, A.
Rohr, Michael.
WiUig, Franz.
KuUmann, Isidor.
Ruff-, J.
Ziigner, Lorenz.
Kurz, Paul.
Sauter, Louis.
j/z^i^e^/i^yf:^/:^<^i.---i-T,^z.^^
CIIjURCll or THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
REV. JOSEPH STUMPE,
PASTOE OF THE CHUECH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION,
MELROSE.
THE reverend gentleman under whose intelligent
care and zeal the Church of the Immaculate
Conception promises soon to rival any in the city, was
born October 3d, 1841, at Ibiu-g, in the Diocese of Os-
nabm-g, in what was then the Kingdom of Planover. After
his early studies in one of the thorough German schools,
he corresponded to the call of divine grace and prepared
to devote himself to the sanctuary. America, Avith its
vast needs, came before liim as a field for the exercise
of the ministry ; and he crossed the ocean to offer him-
self to some diocese where he could be made useful.
Completing his theological course, he was ordained, July
4th, 1866, "by the late Right Reverend Josue M. Young,
D.D., Bishop of Erie, and labored with fruit for some
years in that diocese. He erected the new chiu-ch of
St. Joseph, on Federal Hill in the City of Erie, and
directed the congregation attached to it from 1866 to
1869. He was then made pastor of the Church of
the luunaculate Conception, at Brookville, in Jefferson
388 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
County, Pennsylvania. The climate of the lake shore,
however, proved very trying to liis constitution, and he
was at last forced to seek a change. He came to New
York well recommended by his ordinary, and was soon
intrusted by the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey
with the care of the flock over which he now presides.
He was appointed pastor of the Church of the
Immaculate Conception, at Melrose, in 1872, and has been
actively engaged in his duties since that time, as we have
already seen.
His career has won the approval of his prelate and
the affection of his people. His zeal for education has
induced his flock to new coui'age, and to more than ordi-
nary exertions for the proposed temple.
cm: 11 oil OF SAINT JA5[ES.
JAMES STKKET.
CHURCH OF SAINT JAMES.
JAMES STEEET.
TWO of the present Catholic churches in the city
originated from one, the name of which has
not been perpetuated by either. These are St. James'
Church in James Street, and Transfigiu'ation Church in
Mott Street. Both these sprang from Christ Church in
Ann Street, a church which, during its existence, was
under the pastoral care of a learned and most exem-
plary priest, the Rev. Felix Varela.
He was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1788, and so
distinguished himself for learning and piety that after
his ordination he was appointed Professor of Philosoi^hy
in the College of San Carlos. He published a com-se of
philosophy in Latin and in Spanish, that showed great
ability, while his sermons and discourses gave liim a
widespread reputation. So completely did he obtain the
confidence of the people of Cuba, that he was elected
to represent the island in the Cortes at Madi-id. On the
overthrow of the constitutional government he was pro-
scribed, and, retiring to Gibraltar, came to the United
States, in December, 1823. ' His merit was soon recognized,
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 391
and tlie next year lie was appointed assistant at St. Petei''s.
That cluirch had already become too small to accommodate
the Catholics in the lower part of the city, and the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Dn Bois resolved to lay off a new parish on the
eastern side of Broadway. This he confided to the Rev.
Mr. Varela, whose baptismal entries begin February 24th,
1825. Clu'ist Church in Ann Street, a stone structure
sixty-one feet front by eighty in depth, which had been
erected in 1794, and occupied for some years by the
Episcopalians, was 2)urchased In- Bishop Du Bois for
nineteen thousand dollars, March 3, 1S27. The money
was borrowed from a pious Spaniard. The edifice was
then fitted up as a Catholic church, and solemnly
blessed. Here the Rev. Mr. Varela labored zealously
for several years, endearing himself to his flock by his
piety, devotedness, and vmbotmded charity towards the
poor. His pen- was never idle. Not only did he con-
tinue writing works in Spanish, to diffuse true Catholic
principles in his native island, l;)ut in English he met
the assailants of the Church with a leaminsr, a skill,
and a perseverance which they did not expect.
During the year 1832, the terrible cholera season,
he was assisted by the Rev. Joseph A. Scluieller, but on
the 27th of October, 1833, during service in the church,
and while the priest was actually administering Holy
Communion, a terrible panic arose. Excavation for an
adjoining building had so sti-ained the walls of the
392 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
chiirch that a lai-ge crack was made in the wall. For-
tunately no lives were lost. Examination showed that
the building was yet firm; but it began to yield, and
soon after was found to be so insecure that it could no
longer be used by the large congregation. Christ Church
had to be abandoned, as it was found incapable of being
restored. This was all the more to be regretted as the
congregation was prospering and a free school had just
been opened. Steps were taken to erect a new and
suitable building, and lots in James Street were purchased
by the bishop for that ^^urpose. Meanwhile, rooms at
No. 45 Ann Sta-eet were taken, and subsequently the
second floor of No. 33 Ann Street, a large and airy hall,
was hired as a chapel and blessed August 2d, 1835.
A meeting had been called at Christ Church in May
by Bishop Du Bois, inviting all friendly to the erection
of the new church in James Street to assemble, but
most of the old congregation seemed averse to transfer-
ring their parish church so far.
The Rev. Dr. Varela accordingly prepared to look
for a site more in accordance with the wishes of most
of Ms old flock, part of whom joined in the erection of
the new church in James Street.
The ground at that place had been purchased for
twenty-two thousand dollars, and a solid structm-e begun,
which is used to this day, and is the oldest Catholic
clnu-ch edifice in the city. It was completed in the
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 393
following year, at a cost of tlilrty-seven thousand dollars.
Never had Catholicity seen in America such a period of
trial as that diu-ing which this chm-ch was erected. A
fanatical war on tlio Chiu-ch had begun; the country was
deluged with the most vile and obscene misrepresentations
of the doctrines and lives of Catholics; meetings were
held in Protestant churches and in public halls to inflame
the minds of the people ; and so deluded were the poor
masses whom the leaders kept buried in ignorance, that
a Catholic convent at Charlestown was biimed to the
ground by a mob, the Ursuline nuns and their pupils
being driven from their home at night by violence,
which ]\Iassachusetts encouraged, for which she inflicted
no punishment, and refused all redress.
Bishop Du Bois, while i-eluctantl.y allowing his clergy
to engage in controversy, ai)pealed to his Catholic flock
to avoid all these anti-Catholic gatherings, and to refrain
carefully from creating any distm'bance or giving the
unprincipled agitators any pretext for the violence they
sought to commit. It was amid such a state of things
that the Catholics of New York calmly went on erecting
the new church in honor of St. James. When it was
decided to make it a new parish, the Right Reverend
Bishop confided it to the Rev. Andrew BjTue, an Irish
priest, who had akeady shown his ability and zeal in
the Diocese of Charleston, where he had been made Vicar
General, and who had, as theologian, attended a provincial
394 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
council at Baltimore. To his exertions was due the speedy
completion of the church and the organization of the
parish.
St. James' Church was solemnly dedicated to the
holy Apostle by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Du Bois, in Septem-
ber, 1836, with all the imposing ceremonies, the position
of the church permitting the ritual to be fully earned
out. The array of the clergy on the occasion was im-
posing, and the moral effect of the whole ceremony on
the conmiunity was great. Many began to respect the
Catholic body for the firmness, self-control, and devotion
to their faith which they exhibited under such trying
circumstances. At the High Mass a sermon was preached
by the Very Rev. Dr. John Power, pastor of St. Peter's
Church, whose eloquence held his hearers enthralled.
St. James' Church stood in the center of what was
soon a large Catholic population; and though the extent
of the parish has been from time to time curtailed by
the erection of new churches, it still has, in pro^iortion
to its size, one of the largest congregations in the
city.
It is a solid and substantial building of the Roman
order, surmounted by a cross-capped cupola ; the portico
supported by two columns, with pilasters at the sides.
This leads to the main entrance, over which, on a white
marble tablet, is engraved a cross, and beneath, "D.O.M. S.
JACOBO." There are two side doors, and over each is
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 395
a tablet. One reads: "MY EYES SHALL BE OPEN-
ED, AND MY EARS ATTENTIVE TO THE PRAY-
ERS or IHM THAT SHALL PRAY IN THIS
PLACE. 2 Paralip. chap, v." The other: "THIS IS
NO OTHER BUT THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE
GATE OF HEAVEN. Gen. chap, v."
There is a high basement, originally nsed as a
school, and frequently the scene of great Catholic gath-
erings, especially , in the early days of the discussion of
the School Question. The interior of the church, since
its renovations, is finely decorated, and tlte altar is a
very handsome one.
The Rev. Mr. Byrne continued in chai-ge of this
congregation for six years, assisted by Rev. John Mag-in-
nis, and occasionally by other ^^I'iests ; among these by
Rev. D. W. Bacon, afterwards Bishop of Portland, and
by the Rev. Myles Maxwell and the Rev. P. Gillick.
He then was sent to a new district and founded the
Church of the Nativity and St. Andi'ew's, his merit
causing liim soon after to be raised to the episcopate as
first Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas. St. James can
thus boast of having, as her first pastor and one of lier
first assistants, clergymen whose merits were so esteemed
at Rome as to receive at the hands of the Holy
Father a place in the hierarchy.
The Rev. John Maginnis, who had l^oen connected
with the church from its foundation, then became pastor.
396 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YOEK.
but was soon succeeded by the Rev. John N. Smith.
During his pastorate he was assisted by Rev. Michael
McCarron, afterwards archdeacon of the diocese, Rev.
Wilham Nightingale, Rev. Andrew Doyle, Rev. Michael
Curran, Jr., now for many years pastor of St. Andrew's,
and Rev. John Curoe.
The Rev. Mr. Smith was an energetic, brusque, but
kind and charitable clergyman, thoroughly devoted to his
sacred calling, and much esteemed by his flock. When,
in 1847, the emigrant vessels brought over thousands
prostrated or soon to fall by that terrible scourge, the sliip
fever, a call was made for priests. Among those who
went down cheerfully to the region of the shadow of
death was the earnest and learned Rev. Mark Murpliy.
He soon sank, a victim of charity, after soothing witli
the consolations of religion hundi-eds who liad crossed
the ocean to seek comfort and liappiness, Init found them
only in the supernatural blessings of their holy faith.
The Rev. Mr. Smith hastened to attend his associate
and take his place, Isut he himself was stricken down,
and died five days after, Febmary IGth, 1848, closing
heroically a career of twenty years in the ministry, in
the dioceses of Baltimore and New York.
The Rev. Patrick McKenna was then transfen-ed from
St. James' Chm-ch, Brooklyn. The energy displayed on
other missions was evinced also here. He soon con-
vinced his flock that much was needed, and they heartily
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 397
entered into all his jjlans for theii- spiritual improvement.
He gave the church a thorough repairing, and purchased
ground on which he erected a suitable vestry, which had
long been required. A suitable residence for the clergy
was also purchased.
But the great want in his eyes was that of suitable
school accommodations. To this he devoted himself heart
and soul. The parish soon felt the full extent of their
duty in the matter of the Catholic education of their
children, and were ready to co-operate fully with their
pastor in his efforts to enable them to fulfill that duty.
Again Protestantism, in its decay, helped the Catholic cause.
The Mariners' Church, or Bethel, in Roosevelt Street, was
for sale, and was pm-chased by the pastor of St. James',
in May, 1854, for twenty thousand dollars. He went
among his parishioners with his subscription list, headed
by his own contribution of twelve hundi-ed dollars. Seven
thousand dollars were immediately subscribed and paid.
The church was then transformed into a Catholic school-
house. The impulse thus given to education in the parish
has never lost its influence. The whole district was
allotted off, and St. James' Free School Society established,
under the patronage of Archbishop Hughes. This so-
ciety, which has been eminently successful, continues to
this day, visiting every block weekly, to collect alike
means and pupils.
The young Catholics, exposed to every temptation.
.•',98 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
are now shielded 1)y a sound religious education, and
fitted to encounter the difficulties that beset them. No-
where, perhaps, have the Catholic body learned to feel
so deep an interest in education or such a pride in their
schools, as in the parish of St, James, and their efficiency
now, due to the labors of the present pastor, is the
full growth of the seed planted by the genial ]\Ir.
McKenna. His useful career ended in 1858, when he fell
a victim to a disease of the lungs, which had already
brou"-lit him to the verg'e of the m-ave. But he never
spared himself, and his exhaiisted frame could no longer
rally. He expired February 5th, 1858. He was bimed
from St. James', which was thronged to suffocation Ijy
his weeping parishioners, while tlie Right Revei'end Bishop
of Brooklyn sang the requiem, and clergymen from far
and near came to render by their presence tribute to an
exemplary fellow-laborer. Not unjustly did the eloquent
Father Driscol of the Society of Jesus take as liis text
the words of the First Book of Kings (ii. 35) : " And
I will raise me up a faithful priest, who shall do accord-
ing to my heart and my soul, and I will build him
a faitliful house, and he shall walk all days before my
anointed."
The excellent Dominican Father Thomas ]\Iartin was
then placed by the Most Reverend Archbishop in charge
of the Church of St. James, where he discharged pa-
rochial duties till his death, in May, 1859, at the age
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 399
of 69. Again the congregation had to moiu-n tlie loss
of a great and devoted priest. Though liis connection
with St. James' had not been long, he was known and
revered by all. His funeral, May 13, 1859, was attended
by nearly every priest in the city, with many from
the adjoining diocese. After the Office for the Dead ^vas
recited by the clergy, a Solemn Mass of Requiem was
offered by the Very Rev. Dominican Father Young, with
deacon and subdeacon. Archbishop Hughes j^i'^^^^ounced
the eulogy of the laborious, disinterested priest, who
always asked the hardest position ; and when he had
brought all to peace, or harmony, or regularit}' — had
helped a poor flock to build a church or get rid of a
crushing debt — his only anxiety was to begin the same
work elsewhere.
The Rev. James Brennan was then appointed ; l)ut
in 1865 the Most Reverend Ai-chbishop chose as jjastor
of the Chm-ch of St. James the Rev. Felix H. Farrelh',
who has infused new life into all departments of his
parish. The schools had so increased under the fostering
care of the pastor and the systematic zeal of the people,
that the old school-house no longer sufficed. In 1868,
Rev. Mr. Farrelly erected, on the comer of New Bowery
and James Street, a noble building of the most modern
style, which throws in the shade some of the Public
School buildings that cost the city millions. It is perfect
in all its arrangements. The boys' school is in charge
400 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of those excellent instructors, the Clu'istian Brothers, and
had in 1878 six hundred and forty pupils. The girls'
school, under the Sisters of Charity, numbered no less
than eight hundred pupils. The course of study is so
thorough, and with such regard not only to mental but
also to physical training, that the results have been most
satisfactory. Within the last few years no less than fifty
graduates of St. James' school have passed the rigorous
examination of the Board of Education and received cer-
tificates as teachers in the Pviblic Schools.
There is also an Industrial School, in which nearly
a hundred orphans or half-orphans are daily fed and
educated, who would otherwise fall into the fell hands of
those proselytizing bodies wliich, under the mask of public
benevolence, seek to rob the young Catholics of theu*
faith.
In 1877, the church was thoroughly repaired through-
out and frescoed, so as to make it highly attractive ;
and besides the adornment of the material temple, the
pastor obtained the services of the Passionist Fathers,
who gave a succession of retreats to all classes, which
were productive of the greatest good.
The congregation of St. James is estimated at twen-
ty-five thousand, and a floating population of three thou-
sand Catholic sailors. The reverend pastor is assisted by
the Rev. William A. Farrell and the Rev. Daniel J.
Corkery.
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES.
401
There are many societies connected with the chnrch,
all aiming- to increase piety among the faithful — the
Society of the Sacred Heart, to honor the love of oiir
Divine Lord to man; the Society of the Livuig Rosary,
Young Men's Sodality, and Young Ladies' Sodality. The
St. James Temperance Society, dating back to 1846,
was mainly instrumental in inducing Father Matthew to
visit America. Besides this, there are a Young Men's
Temperance Society, a Piu'gatorian Society, to pray for
the dead, and the Society for the Propagation of the
Faith.
Roll of Honor.
Ahearn, Patrick.
Aird, James,
Anderson, C. G.
Anderson, Margaret.
Anthony, Joseph.
Bailey, Catherine, Mrs.
Barkerding, Adolph.
Bennett, Mary, Mrs.
Bergman, I.
Bishop, Thomas.
Blackford, James.
Blake, Jefferson, Mrs.
Bonnie, Peter.
Brannigan, Patrick.
Brady, John.
Brassell, Ellen E., Mrs.
Brcnnan, Jeremiah.
Brett, William.
Brown, Cornelius.
Brown, James.
Brown, Nicholas T.
Buckley, Dennis.
Buckley, Ellen.
Burnett. Peter.
Burns, Edward G.
Byrne, John J.
Cahill, Florence, Mrs.
Callahan, Ann, Mrs.
Callahan, Dennis.
Callan, Edward N.
Campbell. James.
Carey, Juhn.
Carney, Edward.
Carroll, John J.
Cary, ftLary, Mrs.
Cavanagh, Martin.
Cavanagh, Peter.
Clark, Patrick T.
Coakley, William.
Cody, Peter.
Colligan, William.
Collins, John J.
Coman, Thomas.
Connell, John.
Conroy, Thomas D.
Costello, James.
Cotter, Johanna, Miss.
Coughlin, Jeremiah.
Courad, Elizabeth M.
Creed, Mary A., Mrs.
Creig, Mary J.
Crittenden, Charles W.
Cronley, Joseph.
Cronin, Honora, Mrs.
2G
Cronin, Michael, Mrs.
Cull, Daniel.
Cunehan, Edward.
Cunningham, Daniel.
Curtin, Hugh A.
Cusack, Michael J.
Dalton, Bridget, Mrs.
Daly, Ambrose.
Daly, Daniel.
Daly, Dennis.
Davis, John.
Davis, Patrick.
Deveraux, Patrick.
Devine, Michael.
Devitt, Patrick S.
Dickson, Mary A., Mrs.
Donovan, Cornelius.
Donovan, Daniel.
Donovan, Ellen, Mrs.
Donovan, Florence.
Doody, Catharine, Mrs.
Doyle, John.
Drought, plenry.
Dugan,EIizabelh, Mrs.
Dugan, Mary, Mrs.
Dunigan, William.
Dunn, Simon.
Dunne, Edward.
Dwyer, Patrick.
Dwyer, Peter.
Eagan, Francis.
Eagleton, Mary Ann.
Egan, Patrick.
Fairgrieve, William.
Farrcll, Edward J.
Farrcll, Patrick.
Feely, Michael.
Fenton, Thomas.
Ferre, William.
Field, Richard.
Finn. James.
Finn, John.
Finn, Maurice.
Fitzger.ald, John.
Fitzgerald, John J.
Fitzgerald, I'homas.
Fitzgerald, William.
Fitzpatrick, John J.
Fitzpatrick, Sarah.
Foley, David E.
Foley, Patrick.
Foley, William.
Foster, Charles.
Gallagher, Bernard.
402 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Gallagher, Bernard F.
McCusker, James.
O'Donnell, Charles.
Gamble, Thomas.
McDonald, James.
O'Donnell, John.
Gannon, Patrick M.
McDonnell, Daniel.
O'Donnell, Patrick.
Gibbons, Michael J.
McDonnell, James.
O'Donohue, John.
Gilmartin, Cath., Mrs.
McElroy, ^Latthew.
O'.Meara, D.i'niel M.
Ginna, Michael.
McGinley, Thomas.
O'Neil, Daniel.
Gleason, Michael.
McGrath, Thomas.
O'Neil, Henry.
Grady, Patrick.
McHale, Austin.
O'Neil, Joseph F.
Gregory, Patrick, Mrs.
Mclnerney, Martin.
O'Neill, Margaret, Miss.
Griffith, Thomas G., Mrs.
McKiUop, Henry E.
O'Reilly, Peter.
Grimes, P'rancis.
McKillop, James J.
O'SulIivan, Tames.
Gruner, Edward.
McLaughlin, Dennis.
O'SuUivan. [ohn M.
Gnerin, Margaret.
McLaughlin, Edward.
Patton, William, Mrs.
Haggerty, Catharine E.
McLaughlin, George.
Patty, Ann, Mrs.
Hanifan, Michael J.
McLaughlin, John.
Pillion, Bernard.
Hargrove, Thomas.
McMahon, Patrick.
Pope, John.
Harrington, Michael.
McNamara, John.
Powers, John.
Harrington, Peter F.
McNiff, Peter.
Purccll, Mary.
Haybyrne, Patrick J.
McPhillips, James.
Quinlan, John.
Healy, Stephen, Mrs.
McVay, Daniel.
Ranahan, Henry.
Ilefferman, James.
Madden, Mary.
Reidy, John, Mrs.
Ilernin, Martin.
Magee, John.
Reilly, Michael.
Higgins, John.
Maguire, Bernard.
Reynolds, Margaret, Mrs.
Hodge, John.
Maher, Thomas, Mrs.
Reunard, Andrew.
Hogan, Edward.
Mahoney, D.aniel F.
Riley, John.
Howard, Sarah, Mrs.
Mahoney, Joseph.
Ring, Eliza, Mrs.
Hughes, William.
Mahoney, M. J.
Rush, Thomas J.
Imperatori, Carlo.
Malone,' Patrick.
Russell, John.
Johnson, Mary, Mrs.
Manning, Lewis.
Ryan, Andrew.
[ones, Richard.
Melville, Mary, Mrs.
Ryan, Benjamin B., Mrs.
Keating, Ellen, Mrs.
Miller, Margaret, Mrs.
Ryan, Patrick.
Keenan, James.
Mitchell, George.
Savage, John A.
Kelly, Thomas, Mrs.
Moore, Francis G.
Schultz, John.
Kennedy, John.
Moran, Roger.
Scott, Richard.
Kennedy, Michael.
Moriarty, Daniel.
Seibert, Catharine.
Kennedy, Thomas, Mrs.
Moriarty, Patrick.
Sexton, John.
Kent, John.
Morris, Joseph V.
Shea, Dennis.
Kerrigan, James.
Morris, Patrick.
Sheehan, James A.
Kilgore, Patrick.
Morris, Thomas R.
Short, Peter H.
Kirby, Mary.
Morrison, Edward.
Smith, Charles H.
Kirk, William P.
Mulcahy, Edward T.
Smith, G. R., Mrs.
Knott, William.
MuUane, Bridget.
Spellman, Catharine, Mrs.
Lapp, Henry.
Murphy, Anthony.
Stapleton, Ann, Mrs.
Largan, Michael J.
Murphy, Daniel.
Stevens, W'illiam.
Leary, Patrick.
Murphy, Thomas.
Sullivan, Cornelius.
Lefoy, James.
Murray, Calliarine, Mrs.
Sullivan, Dennis.
Lester, John.
Musgrave, John, Mrs.
Sullivan, Michael.
Lombard, Richard.
Naughton, Thomas J.
Sullivan, Patrick.
Long, Sarah, Mrs.
Newell, James.
.Swan, Joseph.
Lovejoy, Stephen.
Nolan, Martin.
Sweeny, Morgan J.
Luddy, James A.
Nolan, Michael.
Taggart, Hugh.
Lynch, Johanna, Mrs.
Noonan, Dennis, Mrs.
Taggart, John.
Lynch, Julia, Mrs.
Nugent, Tames.
Tangney, Patrick.
Lynch, Michael.
O'Brien, "David.
Thompson, Henry.
Lynch, William.
O'Brien, John.
Tierney, Anthony.
Mc.\lister, John.
O'Connell, Maurice.
Tolster, Myles.
McHride, John.
O'Connell, Michael.
Tripney, John.
.McCabe, Patrick.
O'Connor, Hannah, Mrs.
Turner, Bridget, Mrs.
McCabe, Terence.
O'Connor, James.
Vail, Ellen, Mrs.
McCaddin, Daniel.
O'Connor, Mary, Mrs.
Walsh, Bridget, Mrs.
McCaffery, Owen.
O'Connor, Patrick.
Walsh, John.
McCarthy, James.
O'Connor, Thomas.
Walsh, John.
McCarthy, Joseph P.
O'Connor, William J.
Waterson, Thomas.
McCarthy, I'homas.
O'Day, William.
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES. 40o
REV. FELIX H. FARRELLY,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JAMES.
THE worthy sviccessor of Bishop Bynio, who now
has so identified himself with the pai-ish ehiu-ch
iu James Street, was born in Ireland, December 28,
1832, and after preliminary studies at Castle Knock and
at the Petit Seminaire in Cavan, passed his examination
and entered Maynooth, the great theological school of
Ireland, which has given so many priests, not only to
that country but to all parts of the world.
He was ordained priest at All Hallow's College,
near Dublin, on the 3d of July, 1854, by the Most
Reverend Archbishop Cullen, now Ireland's first Cardinal.
On his arrival in the United States the same year, the
yovmg priest was at once assigned to duty by the Most
Reverend Archbishop Hughes. He became assistant at
the Church of the Nativity, in Second Avenue, on the
fii-st of October, 1854, and held the position for two
years, when he was appointed pastor of the Church of
the Anntmciation at Manhattanville. His discharge of his
duties here showed so much zeal for the good of souls,
and such real ability, that in the fall of 1860 the Cluirch
of St. Mary at Rondout was confided to him. His ser-
404 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
vices were of the greatest benefit to this chiirch, as he
remained nearlj five years, efi"ecting great good and in-
fusing order and system into all parochial affairs.
He was transferred, on the fii'st day of Jime, 1865,
to his present position, in which he seems to live only
as head of his parish — enthusiastic for his schools, en-
couraging the children of liis institutions by his constant
care and prompt appreciation of all their exertions to
succeed. They are his treasures; and the mother of the
Gracchi did not show her sons with more pride, as the
dearest jewels of her heart, than the Rev. Mv. Farrelly
does his bright pupils of St. James' pai-ish, in whose
success in and beyond school he is so deeply interested.
Not only in his own parish is he thus devoted to edu-
cation. There is scarcely a Catholic college or academy
in New York in which medals have not been given by the
pastor of St. James' to stimulate the pupils to excellence.
With a buoyant disposition, cheered by the devoted
affection of his flock, who know his fidelity and char-
ity, the Rev. Mr. FaiTelly does not show the effect of
his nearly quarter of a century of earnest labor in
New York City ; yet it has told on liis health, and he is
no longer as robust and vigorous as of old. Infirmities
and disease not easily eradicated from the system are
now struggling for mastery. He is not a priest whom
the diocese can without pain see retire on account of ill
health, and all long for his complete restoration.
CHURCH OF SAINT JEROME.
ALEXANDER AVENUE AND ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINTH STREET.
THE Catholics of Mott Haven had no church of
their own till the Most Rev. Archbishop ]\Ic-
Closkey, in 1870, commissioned a young priest, who liad
displayed sterling qualities while curate at the Church of
the Immaculate Conception, to proceed to that point of
the city.
Entering his parish with the determination to labor
earnestly, if God in his providence gave the increase,
ascribing all the glory to Him, the Rev. Mr. Hughes
placed his parish under the protection of the great Father
of the Chm'ch, the ornament of the priesthood, the student
of Holy Scripture, whose Latin version, the Vulgate, has
been adopted by om- Holy Mother — St. Jerome. He
was a great saint, a holy man, of decided character,
renouncing the world and retiring to solitude and study
in the Holy Land ; a stem opponent of error, a vigorous
defender of the truth, an admirable director, a model of
the pi'iesthood.
The new pastor at once rented the Market House at
Mott Haven as the temporary Chm-ch of St. Jerome, and,
CHURCH OF ST. JEROME. 407
after collecting the Catholics together and infusing into
them some of his own courage and spirit, prepared to
give his parish a church. He had not come empty-
handed. The friends whom he had made in his last field
of labor gave laim presents of church and altar fiu-niture,
as well as money.
lie purchased a whole block of gi-ound, and began
to arrange for the erection there of a fine chm-ch, a
school-house, and a pastoral residence, the whole in^'olv-
ing an outlay of full a quarter of a million of dollars.
This, however, would be a matter of . time. An able
architect, Mr. L. C. O'Connor, drew the plans of the sev-
eral buildings, but the pastor's idea was to begin with
the greatest want, the school.
On the 19tli of June, 1870, fully seven thousand
Catholics witnessed the laying of the corner-stone of the
school-house of St. Jerome's parish, which was for the
present to give space also for a temporary chapel. Socie-
ties came with numerous delegations, with glittering ban-
ners and devoted hearts — the Excelsior, St. Jerome, St.
Augustine, St. Aloysius Temperance Society. The Very
Rev. William Starrs officiated, assisted by the Rev. Dr.
Burtsell of the Epiphany, the Rev. Mr. Ilealy of St. Ber-
nard's, the Rev. IMr. Slevin, and the Rev. Mr. Woods.
When the solemn ritual had ended, and the stone, the
head of the comer, the type of Chi-ist, had been blessed,
the Rev. Dr. Morrogh preached, taking as his text the
408 CATHOLIC OHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
words of the Psalmist : " Unless the Lord biiild the
house, they labor in vain who build it."
The building, as planned by the architect, L. C.
O'Connor, and erected by Mr. P. Mullen, the builder, is a
fine structure of brick, in the Lonibardo-Gothic style, of
pressed brick, with Ohio and Belleville stone dressings ;
seventy feet wide by one hundi-ed and fifteen feet in depth,
and three stories high. For a time the first story was used
as a temporary chapel, and was neatly fitted up, giving
accommodations for a congi-egation of two thousand souls,
the second and third stories being used for school piu'-
poses. This building cost fifty-five thousand dollars, and
was ready in the following j^car. It was solemnly dedi-
cated on the 25th of June, 1871.
The Eev. Mr. Hughes has as assistant the Rev. J.
Dougherty.
St. Jerome's Church has a thriving Altar Society,
a Rosary Society, and several approved sodalities, as well
as a Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
■ti--7i.-J^-
'/Ut-^/^eS^^
CHURCH OF ST. JEROME. 409
EEV. JOHN J. HUGHES,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JEROME.
THE Rev. John J. Hughes was born in the County
Down, Ireland, on the Feast of All Saints, No-
vember 1st, 1834. His early education, however, was
received at the High School at Whitehaven, in Cumber-
land County, England.
Ha\'ing come to this coimtry in 1856, he entered^
St. John's College, at Fordham, in the ensuing year, and
was graduated in 1862. lie subsequently entered the
Seminary of St. Sulpice, Montreal, where he pm-sued his
theological coui-se under the accomplished professors of
that divinity school.
He Avas ordained on the 26th of July, 1865, in the
Cathedi-al Church of St. Patrick, New York, by the
Most Rev. Archbishop McCloskey, and was placed as
assistant at St. Peter's Church in Barclay Street. After
a tlu-ee months' experience in that ancient parish, he was
assigned to duty as curate at St. Maiy's Church, in the
town of Rondout, and diligently discharged the duties of
that position till the month of November, 1866, A^hon, an
assistant being required at the Church of the Innnaculate
Conception in Fourteenth Street, the young priest, who
410
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
had impressed all by his zeal, capacity, and talent, was
stationed there.
In this church he made himself singularly beloved ;
and Avhen he was appointed to fonn a new parish at
Mott Haven, the grief felt at parting with him was gen-
eral throughout the congregation, and evoked a warm
sympathy in the task he had undertaken. Rarely has a
priest received so many and such substantial tokens of
appreciation on the part of his flock. In the parish which
he has created he has left an enduring monument of his
ability, and the new church which he hopes to raise
will more clearh' prove how readily an earnest priest,
laboring for the good of his congregation, meets a re-
sponse in their hearts.
Roll of Honor.
Adams, Thomas.
Attinelli, Francis.
Bagnall, Charles.
Bailey, A. L., Mrs.
Beisely, John.
Berte, F. C.
Blake, Ambrose.
Brady, Margaret, Mrs.
Brennan, John H.
Broderick, Eliza, Mrs.
Butler, Edward.
Butler, Pierce J.
CHURCH OF ST. JEROME.
Byrne, Joseph.
Byrne, Thomas.
Byrne, William P.
Callahan, Christopher.
Campbell, Hugh.
Carney, Patrick.
Cashman, Patrick.
Cassion, James.
Caulfield, Christopher.
Cavanagh, Patrick.
Clarke, John.
Connelly, John.
Connolly, Mark.
Cooney, Nicholas.
Coyle, Bernard.
Crowe, Michael.
Cunningham, Henrietta.
Curtis, Margaret.
Daly, David.
Daly, H. C.
Daly, Peter.
Daly, Patrick.
Debold, Jacob.
Denny, A.
CHUECH OF ST. JEROME.
411
Doherty, William.
Donlon, Patrick.
Donnegan, John.
Donnelly, Sarah, Mrs.
Dougherty, John.
Drummond, Charles.
England, Martin.
Ettenborough, John J.
Fanning, Patrick G.
Feehan, James.
Findlay, William.
Fitzgerald, James.
Franke, Joseph.
Gafiney, Richard.
Gibney, William.
Gillen, Margaret, Mrs.
Gordon, Patrick E.
Guilfoyle, Thomas.
Guinan, Bernard.
Haiduvan, Joseph.
Hanley, Sarah C.
Hartley, Edward F.
Hogan, Michael.
Hogan, Philip.
Hoyt, Emily A.
Johnson, Joseph.
Jordan, P.
Kelley, Maria, Mrs.
Kennelly, James.
Kenney, P.
Laughlin, James.
Lawler, Patrick.
Leslie, James.
Lipps, Ellen, Mrs.
Logan, Thomas.
Loughlin, Joseph.
Loughlin, Thomas.
Lynch, Bartholomew.
Lynch, John.
McArdle, George.
McCarthy, John.
McGauran, Thomas.
McGearity, Patrick.
McGee, James E.
McGinness, John.
McGrath, Lawrence.
McGrath, Margaret.
McGuire, John,
McKenna, Felix.
McKenna, Francis.
McKenna, Michael.
McKenna, Rosa.
McNally, John.
McQuillan, Alexander.
Mallen, Frank.
Mallen, Owen.
Meany, Margaret.
Meany, Michael C.
Mooney, Rose.
Mooney, Thomas.
Mooney, William.
Montgomery, James.
Moran, John.
Morrison, James.
Morton, Henry.
Murphy, Catharine.
Murphy, Edward.
Murphy, John.
Murphy, Kate.
Murphy, Michael.
Newett, Thomas.
Norris, Thomas G.
O'Byrne, William J.
O'Connor, Charles.
O'Gorman, John.
O'Hare, Patrick.
O'Kane, James.
O'Neil, Michael.
Quigley, D. J.
Redmond, Ennis.
Regan, Owen.
Reilly, James.
Reilly, John.
Reilly, R.
Richardson, Joseph.
Riley, James.
Ryan, James E.
Ryan, William.
Sadlier, Dennis.
Siller, Rose.
Slattery, Patrick.
Smith, Edward.
Stumpf, B. Mrs.
Sullivan, Matthew.
Sullivan, Mortimer.
Tierney, John.
Toner, William.
Trainor, Ellen.
Tuomey, Mary.
Turley, John.
Walsh, Catharine.
Walsh, Patrick.
Weir, Hugh.
Williams, James J.
Wilson, Catharine.
Wolfrath, Alfred.
CHURCir OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST.
WEST THIKTIETH STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
WEST THIRTIETH STREET.
THE necessity of hearing the Word of God in
their ovm tongue, and of having their children
taught the Christian docti'ine in the tones familiar to them
from the cradle, led the German Catholics to exert them-
selves to have separate churches where they could enjoy
these advantages.
The mass and the services of the Church are the
same for all, and to the Catholic it matters not of what
race or land the priest may be who ministers at the altar.
The august sacrifice is offered by men duly ordained
from every nation under heaven. But the teachings of
religious truth come home to the heart more surely when
uttered in the language in Avliich they were heard in
childhood, and which carry the aged man back to the
day when he learned his first prayer at his mother's
knee. ,
The Chui'ch of St. Nicholas was the first step, but it
was far on the eastern side of the city. The German
Catholics on the western side resolved to make an effort
to have a church of tlieir own.
414 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
There was a rocky, swamjjy tract around Tliirty-
first Street, near Seventh Avenue, where modern improve-
ments were not dreamed of. The rude shanties of those
Avho liekl by no lease formed the sole population. Pro-
perty here seemed within the means of a small and poor
congregation.
Here a small frame church in honor of St. John
the Baptist was erected and blessed in 1840. The con-
gregation placed themselves under the jDOwerful patronage
of the Precursor of our Lord, .sanctified in the womb
of His holy mother, St. Elizabeth — a 2>i'ophct, and more
than a prophet, for he not only foretold our I.,()rd, but
pohited him out to the Jews, saying, " Behold the Lamb
of God." Of him the Divine Truth itself said: "Amen,
amen, I say to you, of them that are born of woman
there is not a holier one than John the Baptist."
The Church of St. John the Baptist was thus mod-
estly begun — a small, unpretending frame structm-o. The
opening was auspicious. The really pious rejoiced at the
opportimity now afforded them of attending mass and
frequenting the sacraments in their own part of the city,
and of recei"ving instruction and admonition in the lan-
guage of their fatherland.
But those were days of trustees; and the little chm-ch
was in the hands of men who attempted to rule with a
high hand. The church for some time had no resident
pastor, but when Rev. Zacharias Kunze was appointed.
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 415
he found that the trustees claimed to rule the congrega-
tiou, and hi.s poAver for good was limited. He withda-ew
in 1844, and established the Church of St. Francis Seraph.
Rev. J. A. Jacop became pastor in 1845, but there was a
general lack of spirit and much dissension.
To add to the miseries, on Sunday morning, January
lOtli, 1847, when when the church was ready for early
mass, those of the congregation living near saw flames
bursting out ominously from a rude stable near their
cluirch. The alarm was given, and they hastened to save
their temple ; but the winter Avind fanned the flames,
and though some articles were saved, and much of the
altar fmniiture, the building with the organ was consumed,
and the congregation was without a church.
They did not lose corn-age, but with the money re-
ceived from the insm-ance began to erect a more solid
and substantial edifice of brick.
On Sunday afternoon, March 14th, 1847, the Right
Reverend Bishop Hughes, accompanied by his secretary,
Rev. J. R. Bayley, and two Jesuit Fathers from St. John's
College, proceeded to the spot to lay the comer-stone ac-
cording to the Roman Pontifical.
The Right Reverend Bishop made a most earnest and
powerful addi'ess befitting the circumstance. He reminded
the congregation of the glorious spiritual temjjle, of winch
the material one was but a faint shadow, and that the
strength and usefulness of each particular church, as of
416 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
a single stone, Avere to be found only in its close and
faithful continuance in tlie place of the vast edifice in
which it is set.
An address was also delivered in German by the
Eev. Mr. Raffeiner, and after the chant of a hymn in
German the cong'reg'ation retired.
The new Church of St. John the Baptist was by
no means grand, either exteriorly or interiorly, but it
was a great improvement. For a time the Catholics of
St. John's were attended from the Chm*ch of the Nativity,
but in 1848, the Rev. Joseph Lutz, an exemplary and
energetic priest, was appointed. After four years' labor the
Rev. Mr. Lutz withdi'ew, and the chm-ch was again bereft
of a pastor. At last, in 1853, the Rev. Augustine Dantner
was appointed to the jjosition; and lie struggled on amid
endless difl&culties till the year 187U, when he was forced
to withdraw. The chiu'ch remained closed for several
months, and there seemed every prospect that it woidd
fall from decay — for it was in a wretched condition from
long want of repair — unless in the mean time it was sold
for debt, and so passed entirely out of the hands of the
Catholics.
On the return of the Most Reverend Archbishop
from the Vatican Council, he resolved to make one more
effort to infuse new life into the congregation, and deliver
it fi-om the evils luider which it had so long suffered,
by placing it in the hands of a zealous religious order.
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 41 7
The spectacle of a community bound together by humil-
ity, piety, obedience, and self-denial, ought to be a per-
petual lesson.
The Capuchins, a branch of the great Franciscan
Order, had, at a very early date, labored on the Ameri-
can coast. They built the first Catholic chapels among
the French fishing villages on the coast of Maine and
Nova Scotia in the middle of the seventeenth centmy,
and for many years served the various parishes in Louis-
iana. It is the order which gave Ireland its great moral
refomier, Father Matthew, and the province of Florida,
and more recently the neighboring provinces of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, eminent and laborious
bishops.
The early missions had died away amid the various
changes in the condition of the country, but in 1857
the Rev. Bonaventiu-a Frey and the Rev. Francis Haas
revived the order in the United States, and founded a
convent at Mount Calvary, Fond du Lac County, Wis-
consin.
They were already known to his Grace Ai'chbishop
McCloskey, who, in 1866, confided a district -to them,
where they had erected and conducted most satisfactorily
the Chm'ch of Our Lady of Soitows, in Pitt Street. At
his request, the Rev. Father Bonaventiira Frey under-
took himself the charge of the parish of St. John the
Bnptist.
27
418 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The poor old church was again opened, and the
congregation met once more to hear mass and instnic-
tions. The new pastor at once appealed to their better
feelings, and, expressing astonishment that German Catho-
lics in a great city like New York should be contented
with a church as poor as he had found in the wildest
regions of the West, soon brought the better part of the
flock to rally around him in his work of building a
church that would be honorable to their holy patron, St.
John the Baptist, and creditable, to themselves.
The plan of a new and fitting chmxh was prepared
by the architect, N. Le Brun ; and, undismayed by the
load of debt and the past dissensions, the brave Capu-
chin Father laid the corner-stone of his new church on
the first Sunday after Pentecost, June 4th, 1871.
To enable them to complete the chui-ch, collections
were made, not only among the congregation, but else-
where— one Father, Pacificus, devoting himself almost
entirely to the good work of procm-ing the necessary
means.
The church was finally completed, except the spire,
and stands to-day a soiu'ce of wonder to those '^^lio
recollect the poor old church Avhich for so many years
occupied the site. It is built in pm-e Gothic style. The
fa9ade is of fine di-essed stone, with beautiful arched
doorways, surmounted by windows of singular beauty,
the pi'ojection of the tower base breaking the line of
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 419
the front and relieving it from sameness. The high altar
and those at the sides are of white, polished marble,
pure in taste, design, and execution, standing ont in relief
from a background of darkly veined marble. This, witli
the statues of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph on the
side altars, and the elegantly carved pulpit, the work of
a Capuchin lay brother, attract the attention of all who
enter the sacred edifice. The church is a hiindred and
sixty-five feet long and sixty-seven feet wide, while the
nave, which rises above the aisles, attains a height of
seventy feet. The cost of the building was $175,000.
The erection of so large a church, capable of seat-
ing twelve hundi-ed in the pews, astonished many, and to
some it seemed to be tlu-ice as large as the congregation
required; but the result showed that Father Bonaventura
builded wisely. The solemnity and dignity with which
divine worship is off'ered, and all the offices of the Chm-ch
performed, attract so many that the chm-ch is filled at
the successive masses on Sundays and holidays.
The new chm-ch was solemnly dedicated on the 23d
of June, 1872. Religious societies from the Chm-ch of Oiu-
Lady of Sorrows in Pitt Street, St. Michael's in Thirty-
second Street, and from the Church of the Assumption,
came to rejoice with the parishioners of St. John the
Baptist, with still others from the Holy Innocents, St.
Alphonsus, and St. Francis of Assisi. These came with
their bands — the societies attached to the chm-ch, those
420 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of Francis Xaverius, Francis Joseph, and St. John the
Baptist closing the hne, which was led by a band of
white-robed virgins. When these societies had passed
in order into the chxirch, the ceremony of the day be-
gan. For the third time on that spot a Catholic chm'ch
was to be blessed. His Grace the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop perfoi-med the striking ceremony, and, retimiing to
the sanctuary, took lus seat on the throne prepared at
the left side of the altar.
A Solemn High Mass was then offered, at which
were present the ]\Iost Reverend Archbishop, with Bishop
Persico of Savannah and Bishop McQnade of Rochester.
After the gospel, the Rev. Father Francis Haas, Superior
of the Capuchins in Wisconsin, j^rsached a sermon in
German, taking as his text, " This is the house of God."
At the close of the Holy Sacrifice, his Grace Archbishop
McCloskey felicitated the congregation and the Capuchin
Fathers on the success of their undertaking. " Seldom,"
said he, " have I been so positively reminded of the
sublime scene which was witnessed in Jerusalem at the
dedication of the second Temple to the glory of the God
of Israel by the Jews upon their return from Babylonian
captivity. The i^i'ocession of priests and levites, the
sound of cymbals and music, caused old men and women
to weep with joy, and yoimg ones leaped about under
the same influence. Yet what was the solemnity of that
occasion compared with the present I No divine holo-
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 421
caust was there offered, no Di\'ine presence was there to
be found, but it is not so in the Christian temple."
Encouraging them to hibor earnestly to extinguish
all debt on their fine church, since it could not be called
really the house of God while any man could ])ut for-
ward a claim to it, he reminded them that the solemn
consecration of a church could be performed onl}- when
the edifice was completely free from debt. Receiving his
benediction, the vast and striking assemblage retired.
In the rear of the church on Thirty-first Street, Father
Bonaventiira erected on two lots a fine brick building
trimmed with stone. This was intended as a residence
for a religious community. It was the Capucliin (Jon-
vent, and on its completion it was dedicated by the
Most Reverend Archbishop to St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen,
a holy Capucliin Father, who, after preaching with the
most burning eloquence to the Calvinists of Switzerland,
was put to death by them in the year 1622. Of the tens
of thousands of blessed martyrs who laid down their lives
for the faith at the period of the Reformation, at the
hands of the adherents of some of the many forms of
error then wildly proclaimed, St. Fidelis is one of the few
yet canonized by the Church. He was in name and deed
faithful unto the end, and is a blessed patron for oui*
city. At the time of the blessing of the Convent, his Grace
established the cloister as laid down in the canons.
The necessity of a school building was great, and
422 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Father Boiiaventura did not deem liis good work com-
plete till he had erected one, although the basement of
the new chnrch answered for a time. He found no
building in the neighborhood that could be readily
adapted for school purposes, but was so aided that he
was able to buy two lots adjoining the convent. On
these he erected a fine school-house, corresponding ex-
teriorly to the convent. Some modifications in the con-
vent building were needed, but the architect, Mr. W.
Schickel, succeeded in making an edifice answering all the
purposes, and imposing exteriorly.
The building contains seven large school-rooms, each
of which will accommodate a hmidred pupils. The apart-
ments are well lighted and tnoroughly ventilated ; nor
are an}^ of the reqiiirements now requu-ed in furnishing
a school neglected.
The direction of the boys' school remained for a
time in the hands of secular teachers, but Father Bona-
ventura at last induced the Community of Teachers,
known as the Brothers of Mary, having a mother house
at Dayton, Ohio, to include this also in the number of
schools under their charge. Thi-ee Brothers of this Com-
munity are now engaged in the schools of the parisli,
having one hundred and seventy-five boys under them.
The girls' school is directed by the Sisters of St. Do-
minic, who have a neat house adjoining the church. Their
school contains one hundred and eighty girls.
CHUUUH (^F 8T. JOHN THK BAPTIST. 423
EEV. BONA VENTURA FREY, 0. MIN. CAR,
PASTOR OF THK CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
THE Rev. Father Bonaveiitura Frey was born June
12, 1831, in the Canton of" Tliurgovia, Switzer-
land.
His education, begun at Einsiedlen, was completed at
the Universities of Bonn and Tubing-en. Cod havino-
called him to the ecclesiastical state, he proceeded to
St. Call's Seminary, in Switzerland, which bears the name
of one of Ireland's saints. Here, after that preparation
of the mind and heart which the Church ordains for
aspirants to the awful ministry, he was ordained, in May,
1854, by Bishop Mirrer.
After receiving priestly orders he was appointed to
a parish in his native canton, and discharged his duties
commendably until the year 1856, when he resolved to
devote liimself to the American Mission. Having arri\ed
in this country, he was received by Bisliop Henni, and
appointed to St. Mary's Churcli in j\Iilwauke^.
His mind had always turned to the religious state,
and he felt called to devote his life to serve Cod in
the reform of the Franciscan Order, known as the Friars
Minor Capuchins. There was no community of this
424 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
famous order in the country, but a pious Swiss Father
was duly authorized to open a novitiate in Wisconsin. F.
Bonaventura Frey and F. Fi-ancis Haas were the first
to receive the habit and enter the novitiate. After pro-
nouncing his vows he erected the convent of Mount
Calvary, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, in 1857.
The community prospered, and Father Bonaventura,
after laboring here several years, came to New York in
1866, and had already erected a convent and church
of Our Mother of Son-ows, in Pitt Street, before the
Most Reverend Archbishop requested him to extend his
zeal to St. John's. This brief sketch will show that he
is a priest of more than ordinary merit, and one likely
to render signal service to the Chm-ch.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST.
FIFTIETH STREET.
THE site of the magnificent new Cathedral Church
of St. Patrick has been, almost from the com-
mencement of the centmy, hallowed by the offering of
the Lamb without spot in the Liturgy of the New Law.
In the year 1810, the Jesuit Fathers, who had
opened an academy opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, re-
moved it to a fine old mansion on the corner of Fifth
Avenue and Fiftieth Street — a building- still standing-,
and used as the parochial residence of the chm-ch whose
history we noAv give.
The New York Literary Institution had its chapel
of St. Ignatius, in which Father Peter Malou, once the
brIlUant general of the Belgians in their uprising against
Austria to secure the freedom of their Church, and
other Fathers of the Society of Jesus, offered tip the
Holy Sacrifice. The chapel was thus tlie scene of their
ministiy till tlie summer of 1813, when the position of
the Society compelled the Jesuit Fathers to abandon
then- project of establishing a college in New York.
It was next temporarily occupied by Fathers of the
Cistercian Order — Dom Augustine, Fathers Urban and
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 427
Vincent seemed to have made the Chapel of St. Igna-
tius theirs for some time. But early in 1815 these
Trappist monks withdrew from New York, and the
chapel, as well as all that portion of the island, was for
years without the services of a priest. But the name
of the old chapel and its invocation of the founder of
the Society of Jesus remained.
A quarter of a century passed, and tlie Catholics
employed in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, on Fifth
Avenue, between Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Streets, and
other Catholics near that institution appealed to the
Riglit Reverend Bishop for some means of enabling them
to hear mass. The chapel of St. Ignatius was again
opened, in the venerable bviilding where Jesuit and Trap-
pist had officiated so many years before. In 1840, the
Rev. John Maginnis was appointed to organize the
Catholics, and, if possible, erect a church for their ac-
commodation. A Catholic congregation was organized,
in the form then usual, with a board of trustees, ; nd a
modest little frame edifice erected. It was dedicated on
the ytli of May, 1841, at half-past ten in the morning,
by the Rt. Rev. John Hughes, D.D., then ndministratoi-
of the diocese. After the ceremonies a Solemn High
Mass was ofi'ered, and the Bishop delivered a sermon
adapted to the occasion.
The congregation was feeble in numbers, and by no
means wealthy, so that tickets of admission were issued
428 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
to aid in reducing the debt incurred in the erection of
the church.
The Rev. Mr. Maginnis remained as pastor of St.
John's till September, 1842, when he was succeeded
by the Rev. Wilham Nightingale, an English clergyman,
who labored for several years in the diocese. In April,
1844, the Rev. Felix Larkin — whose brother, the cele-
brated Jesuit Father, John Larkin, has left such a dis-
tinguished reputation among us — undertook the direction
of the cluu'ch.
The old trustee system was in this parish bearing
its bitter fruits. The trustees were the parties in power;
bvit, even where filled with the best dispositions, were
generally men whose time was taken up with their own
business affairs, and who, consequently, could attend to
the interests of the church only at intervals. The re-
sult was an utter want of economy. A church would
be begun beyond the means of the congregation, and
often, where contractors brought influence to bear on the
members of the board, built at a fearfully exagger-
ated cost for every thing furnished. The trustees then
found themselves face to face with a debt beyond their
power to meet or manage. They could make no appeal
to the congregation in the sacred name of religion. They
possessed no such infliience as would touch the hearts
of the generous.
In their utter inefficiency, these bodies then tmiied
CHURCH or ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 429
to the priest placed by the bishop in the church, but
it was no part really of his sacred calling to make
himself a collector and money raiser for a board which
expended the means of the church frequently against his
judgment and his sound advice. St. John the Evange-
list is an gxample of the result of tliis false position.
The trustees were unable to derive enough from pew
rents or the collections in the chm-ch to meet the ex-
penses, or pay even the interest on the mortgage which
covered the property. They had neither time nor abil-
ity to go elsewhere and invoke aid. Even in the
church itself, the faithful, notwithstanding the appeals of
the successive clergymen, were loth to give money,
when all that was given seemed hopelessly sunk.
The holder of the mortgage, after waiting for years
and seeing no hope of obtaining any payment whatever,
finally foreclosed, and as no effort was made even then
to obtain a loan elsewhere, or raise any part of the in-
debtedness, the Church of St. John the Evangelist was
sold at auction.
It was the first time that such an affliction had be-
fallen a Catholic church in the city, and it came like
a death-knell on the whole body. It broke the heart of
the pastor, who, not responsible for the position of
affairs, and coming to the position when the disaster
was irreti'ievable, had appealed in vain to his flock to
save the church. He never recovered from the blow,
430 CATHOLIC CIIUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
wliich may be said to have terminated a long and use-
ful ministry.
The disOTaceful sale was a lesson. It showed that
o
the trustee system was inherently wrong; that the bishop
and his clergy alone could inspire the confidence which
would induce the faithful to give of their mealis to erect
and maintain the shrines of religion.
The congregation was bereft of its chm-ch, which,
standing there with closed doors, Avas a bitter reproach.
To rescue the fair fame of the Catholic body, the Right
Reverend Bishop sent to tlie parish a young and ener-
getic priest, who was not to be appalled by difficulties,
but rather enjoyed grappling with them. This was the
Rev. Michael Currau, Jr.
Coming to his work, he was free from all trustee
interference. All devolved on himself personall}', and he
was iintrammeled. The Chapel of St. Ignatius was again
opened. The old college building had become the
property of St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, St. Peter's Church
liavinjj- sold its interest. In the large hall of this build-
ing an altar was set up, and in this temporary chapel
the congregation of St. John the Evangelist met, to hear
mass and ajjproach the sacraments, for about a year.
Meanwhile their young priest was collecting far and
near, appealing to the charity and religious feeling of
every benevolent Catholic. It was not a time when such
a collection was an easy matter; it was the day when
CIIUKCII OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 431
the terrible famine in Ireland was desolating the country,
and all who loved that ill-fated land felt as if every
cent that they could give must be devoted to the relief
of that starving nation, where satanic proselytizers \vere
endeavoring to lure the famishing from their faith by
the offer of bread.
Yet the Rev. Mr. Cm-ran succeeded; although, as often
happens, the purchasers of the church, seeing the desire
to regain it, more than once raised the price, the priest
went steadily on. He paid the amount demanded, and
b}- the direction of the bishop took the deed of the
property in his own name till other arrangements were
made. Recently, in one of those periodical revivals of
the old falsehood that the new cathedral property was
given to the Cathohcs by the city, allusion was made to
the deed subsequently made by the Rev. Mr. Cm-ran,
reminding this generation of his noble work thirty years
ago, in recovering, by his personal exertions, a Catholic
cluu-ch which had been swept away from us.
Two years' pastorship enabled him to place the
Cluu-ch of St. John the Evangelist on a solid footing,
and open to it a time of prosperity. In May, 1850, he
was transferred to another field, and the present pastor.
Rev. James McMahon, was appointed. Some money had
been borrowed on bond and mortgage; but the new
pastor, with means of his own, at once discharged this
incumbrance and soon paid off all other debts, leavin<>-
432 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
his little clim-cli entirely free. The parish was at this
time very extensive, embracing from Thirtieth to Eighty-
sixth Street on the East River, and from Fortieth to
Eighty-sixth Street west of Broadway, and including also
Blackwell's Island.
The increase of the Catholic body in this large dis-
trict was soon felt. In the autumn of 1853, this and
the projected erection of a new cathedi-al on the block
called for action. It was resolved to purchase the pres-
ent site and remove the chm-ch to it, building a high
basement for school purposes. Five hundred dollars were
subscribed at the first meeting, to begin the necessary
work. The transfer was soon completed, and the church,
thus renovated and restored, served the pm-poses of the
parishioners for a time ; but a few years later an addition,
forty feet by ninety, was erected, making the edifice
ninety feet in width by one hundi-ed and forty in depth,
and costing in all fifteen thousand dollars. The old
pastoral residence, so venerable for its associations, was
at the same time removed from the cathedral gromids
to its present site.
Meanwhile a fine organ had been built in the chm-ch,
embracing many improvements which were the invention
of the reverend pastor. The merit of the instrument
was so great that it was resolved to transfer it to the
new cathedi-al. Its value was thirty thousand dollars.
As the city grew rapidly around the spot, other
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 433
churches were founded, di-awing off part of the ct>ngre-
gation, and reducing greatly the Hmits of the parish of
St. John the Evangehst.
On the 10th of January, 1871, a disaster befell the
church. Like the chui'ch dedicated to the Holy Precursor
of our Lord, St. John the Baptist, the- church dedicated
to the beloved apostle, St. John the Evangelist, fell a vic-
tim to the flames. The fire originated in the sanctuary,
but could not be explained. The timbers being old and
di"y, the devouring element spread rapidly, and the
church was burned to the ground. The organ, the
pride of the pastor, and his labor for years, perished;
nor was it possible to save even the vestments and
paintings in the chm-ch, while the insurance was incon-
siderable compared to the loss sustained. Undaunted by
this disaster, the Rev. Mr. ]\IcMahon set to work to re-
build St. John the Evangelist, on Fiftieth Street and
Madison Avenue. At a meeting of the parishioners, ten
thousand dollars were subscribed. In a few months, a
new and substantial brick church was erected, with fire-
proof walls and slate I'oof, capable of seating twelve
hundred comfortably. It was supplied with a new or-
gan of greater strength and more perfect tone than the
lost one. In November, the Jesuit Fatlier Damen and
his associates gave a mission in this church, at which
more than ten thousand approached the saci'aments. As
the present clim'ch will not be needed when the new
28
434 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
cathedral opens, it was erected with a view to its be-
ing transformed hereafter into a parochial school for boys.
There is now here a girls' school, under the direction of
the Sisters of Charity, which numbers no fewer than
seven hundred pupils. To afford opportunity to those
who desire a liigher grade of teaching, the Sisters of
Mercy from Houston Street, a few years since opened,
at 128 East Fifty -fom-th Street, St. John's Academy of
Our Lady of Mercy, which has been singularly success-
ful in its results, and is attended by about one hun-
di'ed young ladies.
Among the societies attached to the church are the
Society of the Holy Family, a Temperance Society, a
Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and
a Circle of the Catholic Union, with Altar and Rosary
societies, and sodalities for older and younger members.
The assistants of the Rev. Mr. McMahon are the
Rev. Michael Callahan, a native of Cavan, Ireland, edu-
cated at St. Francis Xavier's College and St. Joseph's
Seminary ; the Rev. Thomas A. j\IcCabe, a native of
New York, who went from the same college to the
Seminary of Our Ladies of the Angels ; and the Rev.
C. T. Donovan, a native of Ireland, who completed liis
divinity course at the Provincial Seminary, Troy.
The church in New York dedicated to the beloved
Apostle and Evangelist, St. John, is, as we have seen,
in time to become a school. The name of the chapel of
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 435
St. Ignatius and of tlie Church of St. Jolm will doubt-
less be preserved among the chapels in the new cathe-
dral to continue the protection of those gi-eat saints in-
voked on the spot, upon all who there offer up theu-
prayers to God.
St. John — Apostle, Evangelist, Prophet of the New
Law, nearest to the heart of our Blessed Lord, on
which he reclined at the Last Supper — is represented
among tlie Evangelists by the eagle, to note the sub-
limity of his doctrine. He might be typified by the dove
or by a flaming heart, to show how his heart burned
with love for Grod and for all men. Love of God above
all things, and of our neighbor for God's sake, breathes
from every line of his epistles.
St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, who
was so providentially raised up by God to check the
com-se of the Reformation — whose order sent Maryland
her first missionaries, and so long kept alive the faith
in colonial times — gave New York her first missionary,
her first martyr, her first resident priests. And her first
college should not be forgotten in the new cathedral, where
his chapel once stood.
436
CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YOEK.
R
OLL OF
H
ONOR,
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST.
Bowe, Patrick.
Boyce, James.
Boyle, John J.
Branique, Margaret.
Broun, Johiv
Buckley, Dennis, Mrs.
Burlinson, William.
Cahill, Thomas.
Canavan. John.
Carey, Thomas.
Cary, John G.
Casey, J.
Cavanagh, Ellen.
Chrystal, Peter.
Collins, John.
Collins, P.
Conlon, John.
Cooney, John W.
Curran, Peter.
Daly, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Daly, Martin.
Daylon, Patrick.
Denning, Philip.
Devine, Michael.
Donohne, Catharine,Mrs.
Donohue, Philip.
Doran, Charles J.
Dowd, James.
Duffy, Solomon.
Dugan, Francis.
Duggan, J. A.
Dunn, James H.
Dunn, John.
Earle, Eugene M., Mrs.
Elliott, Estelle.
Falihee, Michael.
Fallon, William.
Farley, John.
Farrell, Edward.
Filann. Stephen,
Fitzgerald, William.
Fitzgerald, Catharine, Mrs.
P'itzpatrick, Philip.
Fitzsimmons, Owen.
Flaherty, Michael.
Fleherty, Patrick.
Galligan, Bernard.
Galvin, James T.
Geoghegan, James.
Gibney, Patrick.
Gilmartin, Thomas.
Green, Martin.
Griffin, James, Mrs.
Hafe, ^Iargaret, Mrs.
Hanegan, 'I'homas.
Hanlon, Marcus, Mrs.
Harris, Andrew.
Healy, Charles.
Hennessey, Arthur J.
Hennessey, Michael.
Hoctor, John.
Hogan, Michael.
Hughes, Patrick J.
Irwin, Michael J.
Jordan, Margaret.
Kain, John.
Kane, Michael.
Kearney, James.
Kelly, Eugene.
Kelley, P.
Kells, Jeremiah.
Kerrigan, Thomas.
Kipp, Margaret A.
Leahy, Thomas.
Lenihan, John.
Loonie, Dennis.
Lynch, Cornelius.
McCarthy, Michael.
McEntee, James.
McGrane, Thomas.
McGuire, John T.
McICeon, Annie.
McKinley, John W.
McLaughlin, Margaret.
McLoughlin, Thomas.
McManus, Thomas.
McNally, Matthew.
McSorley, John.
Macguire, Constantine J.
Madden, Thomas.
M.ahon, Patrick.
Mahony, Dennis J.
Malone, \^'il!iam.
Marren, Joseph.
Martin, James.
Mason, Frank.
Matthews, Peter.
May, Dominick.
Meehan, Margaret.
Meehan, Patrick C.
MoUoy, John.
Malcahey, M. J.
Mulligan, James.
Mulvihill, James.
Murphy, James.
Murphy, James T.
Murphy, John.
Murray, Slatthew.
Murray, Michael.
Nesraith, John P., Mrs.
Neumann, Francis A.
O'Brian, Charles.
O'Brien, John E.
O'Brien, Patrick.
O'Conner, Bernard.
O'Connor, J.
O'Connor, Thomas.
O'Donohue, J. J.
O'Donovan, Jeremiah.
O'Meara, Catharine F., Mrs.
O'Rourke, Feli,\.
Plunkett, John, Mrs.
Quinlan, John.
Raab, John H.
Regan, David, Mrs.
Reidy, Edmund.
Reilly, James.
Reynolds, John F.
Riley, Edward.
Roche, James.
Roche, John.
Savney, Philip.
Seery. Bernard.
Shaw, Patrick.
Skelly, Thomas.
Smith, James.
Smith, Philip.
Smith, W. J.
Sweeney, Edward.
Weeks, Tirus,
Wheeler, Thomas.
White, Michael.
Wilson, James.
■/:/^y/^.
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 437
THE REV. JAMES McMAHON,
PASTOR OF THE CHUECH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST.
THE Rev. James McMalion was born in Ireland,
and was educated at Jlaynootli, where his
nncle was for several years President. The yoiuig can-
didate for the priesthood distinguished himself by the
depth and solidity of his studies; and after his ordina-
tion he proceeded to the Seminary of St. Sulpice, Paris, in
order to pm-sue still further the theological studies to
which he was attached. From the seminary in Paris he
proceeded to the institution of that learned body in Mon-
treal; but in 1843 came to New York, where he was
appointed by Bishop Hughes assistant at St. Mary's
Church, while the Very Rev. William Starrs was pastor.
He remained here till he was appointed parish priest of
St. John the Evangelist, and was greatly regretted by
the faithful at St. Mary's.
In the parish with which he has been so long iden-
tified he is greatly resjiected. The poor have ever found
in him a kind and generous friend. In his ministry
he has been pious, devoted, and imwearied, while his man-
agement of afiairs has been judicious, inspiring ever}-
438 CATHOLIC CHUKCHES OF NEW YORK.
confidence, so that the faithful are ever ready to co-
operate in any good work.
He is a Hebrew and BibUcal scholar of remarkable
ability. He published in 1848 what may be regarded
as an entirely new version of the New Testament, based
indeed on Challoner's revision of the old Douay, but in
which he brought to bear the results of his years of special
study. He also edited, with many evidences of his crit-
ical ability, the Haydock Bible, issued by Edward Dmii-
gan & Brother, and now 2Dublished by Thomas Kelly
of this city. His Testament is now issued by Kelly,
Piet & Co., of Baltimore.
In music he is a great proficient; not only h\\\y
versed in all the best ecclesiastical masters, but is also
skillful in the manufacture of musical instruments. Cluu'ch
organs have been his especial study, and the improve-
ments introduced by him have been many and import-
ant; though, as we have seen, the first great work of
his skill perished in the fire that laid St. John's in
ashes.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH,
SIXTH AVlilSUJi.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH.
SIXTH AVENUE AND WEST WASHINGTON PLACE.
BISHOP DU BOIS, in the impulse which he gave
to the needed church extension in his epis-
copal city, showed his devotion to the Holy Family by
dedicating the first churches to Jesus, Mary, and Jo-
seph. The edifice in Ann Sti-eet already bore the
name of our Blessed Lord ; that in Sheriff Street re-
ceived that of liis holy ]\[otlier Immaculate ; a third was
to bear the name of Joseph, the foster father of our
Saviour, the princely but humble descendant of David.
Green-wich Village was then an outlying suburb of
the settled part of New York, reached by a pleasant
road that ran off from Broadway towards the North River.
There were Catholics here in sufficient number to form a
congregation, bvit no means had been taken to supply theii"
want or to rouse them to act; though the Orangemen, in
1824, had managed to create a riot here for which several
were punished. " I have been unable," wrote this Right
Reverend Bishop, in March 1830, " to procure means to
build a chiu-ch in one of the suburbs, where the Cath-
olic population is very considerable, and too far- from
other chm-ches for them to attend. I have accordingly
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 441
been obliged to hire, for two hundred dollars a year, a
very large hall, which can hold seven or eight hundred
persons. It is another burden that falls entirely on me,
poor as I am."
In this hall, situated on Grove Street, the Catholics
of the " village " Avere organized under the law, the
trustees of the new Church of St. Joseph being Eugene
Cummiskey, John Devlin, Andrew Leary, Joseph Lamb,
and Patrick Kinsala, and preparations made to erect a
church. Bishop Du Bois confided the task to the Rev.
James Cummiskey, and early in the year 1833, lots were
purchased in the name of the new corporation, on the
corner of Sixth Avenue and BaiTow Street. Here, on
the tenth of June, 1833, the corner-stone of St. Joseph's
Church was laid, with all the ceremonies, rejoicing the
hearts of the Catholic body, as St. Maiy's had been
dedicated only the day before. The erection of the
church was then begun. There were some devoted and
zealous Catholics ready to contribute, but there were
some actuated by a Avretched spirit of mischief ; and
even in what was considered the Catholic paper, there
appeared a communication of the most insiilting charac-
ter addressed to the venerable and devoted Bishop, who
was doing all in his power to afford the Catholics of
that portion of his diocese the opportimity of fulfilling
their sacred obligations.
The trustees promptly ansAvered the wretched slan-
442 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
derer, sustaining the Bishop and the clergyman appointed
by him.
The church was well advanced, as we find, in the
Catholic paper of October 5th, the following advertise-
ment, which will seem curious to the pi'esent generation
of Catholics : —
" St. Joseph's Church. — The trustees respectfully in-
■sate the friends of this church to the ceremony of what is
generally called the Raishtg, which will take place at
tlu-ee o'clock tliis afternoon, under the direction of Mr.
James Dempsey, master carpenter.
" By order,
" Joseph Lamb, Sec'y."
The church Avas completed, early in 1834, sufficiently
to admit of its being dedicated to the service of God ;
]\Ir. John Doran being the architect; Dempsey, Dougherty,
and Foley, the builders. The solemn ceremony took
place on Sunday, the 16th of March.
Catholics looked to the new church -NAith pride. It
was, next to the cathedral, the largest church they yet
had in the great City of New York. It contained two
hundi-ed and seventy pews, and had galleries with seats
so arranged that all fronted the altar. The ceiling was
paneled, and decorated in artistic style, with festoons of
flowers and vines, while the altar was something wonder-
ful for its time, and described as a " costly and superb
specimen of Italian workmanship."
CUUECII OF ST. JOSEPH. 443
The scene within the sanctuary, when tlie office for
the dedication of a churcli was performed, was one
worthy of being commemorated by an liistoric painting.
From the sacristy came forth the procession, led by
acolytes, followed by the clergy and the Right Reverend
Bishop, and when the Pontifical High Mass followed,
there stood at the altar the venerable Bishop Du Bois,
founder of Mount St. Mary's ; in the robes of a deacon,
the Rev. Wm. Quarter, who was to die Bishop of Chi-
cago ; and in the tunic of a subdeacon, the Rev. John
McCloskey, future Bishop, Archbishop, and America's first
Cardinal ; while among the clergy present in sm-plice
and cassock was the erect form and commanding counte-
nance of the Rev. John Hughes of Philadelphia, who,
as successor of the officiating prelate, was to make his
name known tlu'oughout the world.
The other priests noted as present that day are
known among those who lived to be veterans in the
aiTxiy of the Lord — the Rev. J. A. Sclmeller, who acted
as master of ceremonies, the Rev. J. Cummiskey, first
pastor of St. Joseph's; the Rev. John Kelly, Rev. Jolm
Conroy.
The sermon was preached by the Rev. Charles C.
Pise, D.I)., taking as liis text the words of II. Paralipome-
non, vii. 16 : "I have chosen and have sanctified this
place, that my name may be there forever, and my eyes
and my heart may remain there peqietually." The ser-
444 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
mon, full of beauties of style and eloquent movement,
showed the perpetuity and unchang-eability of religion ; its
perfection under Jesus Christ, who confeiTed on it that
grace which, of all possible institutions, is the most per-
fect and sublime. He drew the history of the church
and her altars founded on the rock. " This rock, on
which her foundations were laid in the beginning, has
not yielded, in the least, to the fury of the waves,
but still dashes back, as it ever did, the foam of ages
and the tempest's wrath. Like some high and solitary
beacon shedding an undying light upon the waste of
waters, the Church rears her heaven-lit head over the
desolation of the past and the changes of the present,
to remain in her grand and solitary position, beaming
down on time the light of eternity."
The collection with the money received for tickets
amounted to fifteen hundred dollars — a large sum for
New York nearly fifty years ago.
Almost contemporaneous with the erection of St.
Joseph's, the good bishop began, in the same district,
an excellent charity, the Half Orphan Asylum. It was
incorporated May 2, 1835, as the Asylum for the Re-
lief of the Children of Poor AVidowers and Widows. It
was placed under the care of the Sisters of Charity,
and it was hoped that the surviving parent would con-
tribute sufficient to enable the asylum to tlirive, with a
little assistance from the various congregations; but it
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 445
soon proved that the revenue from this sonrce was very
trifling. For years the Easter collection in all the
chui-ches went to the support of this Asylum, but it
was sustained mainly by the generosity of a few de-
voted Catholics, chiefly members of St. Joseph's congre-
gation. By an act passed April 13th, 1852, the Orphan
and Half Orphan Asylums were united, and the building
used by the latter became St. Vincent's Hospital.
The parish of St. Joseph was very large. It ex-
tended for many years from Canal Street to Twentieth
Street, west of Broadway, entailing severe labor on the
clergyman, especiall}' in the visitation of the sick. The
church had scarcely been opened when the cholera for
the second time swept over New York, with less deadly
effect than in 1832, but still carrying off thousands of
victims.
The Rev. Mr. Cummiskey, with the other clergymen
of the city, showed the utmost devotedness in this
period. He did not remain, however, long in charge of
the parish, being succeeded before the close of the year
by the Rev. Dr. Charles Constantine Pise, who remained
at St. Joseph's for about two years. He was a native
of Maryland, a brilliant writer and orator, of elegant
and attractive manners. He was one of the earliest in
this country to attempt to diff'use among Catholics a class
of lighter and more attractive literature, in which the
doctrines and practices of the Church were defended or
446 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
correctly represented. His poetry was also of a high
order, based on the purest models. With Dr. Varela he
was for several years editor of the Catholic Expositor,
and frequently contributed to other Catholic periodicals.
After leaving St. Joseph's he was for many years at St.
Peter's, and then founded the Church of St. Charles Bor-
romeo, Brooklyn, where he died.
During Dr. Pise's incumbency, the chm-ch was com-
pleted and some improvements made, and a fine fresco
of the Transfigiu-ation, after Raphael, was painted as the
altar-piece. A sacred oratorio was given in October, 1835,
to meet the expense of these ameliorations. Dr. Pise was
active in exertions, by lectures, sermons, and fairs, in be-
half of the Half Orphan Asylum, then on Sixth Avenue,
and containing a hundred children.
In 1838, the Right Rev. Bishop Hughes appointed
to St. Joseph's the Rev. John McCloskey, who brought
to this pastoral charge all his learning and experience, as
well as those personal gifts which endear him to all. He
remained the revered pastor till the opening of St. John's
College, Fordham, in 1841, when he became the first presi-
dent and real founder of that institution, giving it from
the outset the high character it has always maintained.
Dm-ing his presidency of the college he continued to
discharge his duties at St. Joseph's, and when Dr. Man-
ahan became president of St. John's, the Rev. Mr. Mc-
Closkey, to the delight of the parish, was again wholly
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 447
theirs. He was assisted successively by the Rev. B.
Carraher, the Rev. D. W. Bacon, afterwards Bishop of
Porthind, and the Rev. J. P. Biu-ke.
The Rev. Mr. McCan-on was an energetic priest,
highly esteemed by Archbishop Hughes, who, in time,
made him archdeacon of the diocese. He was un-
wearied in attending to his duties, and always ready to
hasten to the couch of the sick, in the most inclement
weather and at the most distant points of his parish.
Large as it was, and scattered as his flock, not a Catho-
lic died without the sacrament.^ tlu-ough any remissness
or neglect on his part. He was as devoted in the con-
fessional, and at all the offices of the Church.
As soon as he had introduced system into the af-
fairs of the diocese, he set himself heart and soul to
establish parochial schools for the young of both sexes,
in order to secm-e them that training in the faith which
can alone save them from the allurements of vice, often
insidiously masked under the disguise of proselyting
zeal.
Eai-ly in 1855, by his unweared exertions, he com-
pleted a school building on Leroy Street, which Catho-
lics then justly regarded as magnificent. It was opened
on the 16tli of April. The boys were under the care
of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and soon numbered
four hundi-ed and fifty. Three Sisters of Charity as-
siuned the direction of the four hundred girls who were
448 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
sent to receive an education at their hand^ under tlie
patronage of the foster father of oiu- Lord. He did
not stop here. The next year the Sisters of Charity
opened on Sixth Avenue an acadeiu}-, which to this day
has enjoyed the highest ])opularity, and trained many
young ladies most creditably.
From 1845 to 1849, the Rev. Mr. McCarron was
assisted by the Rev. William Quinn, now for many
years the distinguished Vicar General of the diocese,
who, at the bier of the pastor of St. Joseph's, paid an
eloquent tribute to his worth. Among other cm'ates may
be named the Rev. William Everett, so long identified
with the Church of the Nativity, and the Rev. Jerome
Nobriga, who, placed in St. Joseph's by Bishop Hughes
in 1849, is still, after neai'ly thirty years' parochial work,
laboring in the same parish.
After ten years' ser\-ice at St. Joseph's, the Rev.
Mr. I\IcCarron was transferred to St. Mary's, and died
pastor of that church, February 23, 1867.
He was succeeded at St. Joseph's Chui-ch by the
present parish priest, the Rev. Thomas Fan-ell, under
whose able management the church has prospered won-
derfully. Dm-ing his long pastoral relation of more than
twenty-two years, he has had, among other cm-ates, be-
sides the venerable Mr. Nobriga, the Rev. E. Maguire,
Rev. Hugh T. Brad)-, Rev. P. McSweeny, Rev. Reuben
Parsons, Rev. James O'Leary, Rev. E. A. Dmiphy, Rev.
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 449
John P. ]\rcClancy, Rev. John J. Duffy, Rev. John Fitz-
harris, and his present capable assistants, Rev. J. B. Salter
and Rev. J. J. McCauley.
Among incidents worthy of note was the administer-
ing of the Holy Sacrament of Confii-matlon, on the 23d
of May, 1861, by the Bishop of Guadalajara, Mexico,
then banished from his see, who was thus enabled to
judge, b}- the order and regularity in the services of
the chm-ch and the number of both sexes who approached
the sacraments, how real was the progress of the faith
in the United States.
Although the chm-ches of St. Alphonsus Liguori, St.
Anthony of Padua, St. Bernard, and St. Francis Xavier,
have all been erected within the bounds of the parish
of St. Joseph as it existed a few years ago, the congre-
gation is still a very large one, and the church can
barely, by the numei'ous services on Sundays and holi-
days, enable the faithful to hear mass. The Catholic
population of the parish is estimated at fifteen thousand,
while the church can at most hold two thousand. The
academy and schools maintain their efficiency, and by
the number of pupils show that the flock is a large
one ; there being nearly a thousand children in the pa-
rochial schools.
The piety of the faithful is kept alive by various
sodalities and pious associations, while the Temperance
Society has been the instrument of much good.
29
450 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Roll of H
_ONOR.
CHURCH
OF ST. JOSEPH (SIXTH AVENUE). 1
Anderson, Patrick.
Fenlay, Michael.
McCosker, T.
Bailey, John H.
Floyd, James R.
McCray, William.
T5ain, Thomas.
Francis, Robert.
McGinn, John.
Baker, Wilham H.
Frank, Augustus A.
McGinnity, Dennis.
Beh.an, John.
Gumbleton, Henry A.
McGovern, Thomas, Mrs.
Berenholtz, George N.
Haight, Ann, Mrs.
McHugh, John.
Bergen, WilHam.
Halloway, John.
McKenna, Patrick.
Bourke, Godfrey R.
Hand, John.
McLaughlin, .\nn.
Brady, Edward.
Harney, William.
McParten, J. G.
Brennan, William.
Harrigan, Edward.
MacKane, John.
Brett, Joseph William.
Hart, Martin.
Maher, Murtha J.
Burgess, Mary X., Mrs.
Hayes, Patrick, Mrs.
Mohan, Bernard.
Burns, John.
Hayward, Robert, Mrs.
Mahon, N. P.
Byrne, Michael.
Healy, Nicholas.
Monahan, Thomas.
Cantwell, John, Mrs.
Holmes, James.
Moore, Elizabeth.
Carney, Jame. .
Howe, George P.
Morange, Martina, Mrs.
Carraher, T.
Kane, John.
Mount, D. Mrs.
Carroll, James.
Keane, John.
Murphy, John.
Cassin, Catharine, Mrs.
Kearney, H.
Murphy, M., Mrs.
Cavanagh, John, Mrs.
Keenan, John.
Murray, Frank,
Clark, Bernard.
Kelly, James.
Norris, John, Mrs.
Clarke, John.
Kelly, P.
O'LIara, John.
Condon, Edward.
Kelly, Thomas.
O'Neil, D. Edwin.
Conlon, James, Mrs.
Kennedy, Arthur J.
O'Neil, James.
Cosgrove, John.
Kennedy, Thomas E.
O'JSfeil, Lawrence, Mrs.
Conville, I'homas.
Kenney, Bartholomew F.
Quigley. John.
Coonan, Thomas.
Kernan, J. A.
Quigley, Thomas.
Corbett, James.
Killeen, Edward.
Quinn, Peter.
Coughlan, Michael.
King, Hugh.
Rafferty, Patrick.
Coyle, D. E.
Laden, John.
Redmond, Mary T., Mrs.
Cronin, John.
Lee, John.
Scott, John.
Dailey, Margaret E., Mrs.
Leonard. John.
Scully, John S.
Dolan, John.
Logue, Patrick.
Severance, Joseph H., Mrs
Donnelly, M.
Lynch, James.
Sheil, Patrick.
Dougherty, Michael F.
Lynch, John.
Skelly. Patrick.
Driscoll, James.
McCarthy, John C.
Sterritt, William.
Ennis, Louisa J., Mrs.
McC.arvill, John.
Walker, William H.
Farrell, William.
McConnell, John J.
Walsh, George.
Fay, James.
Finnell, Thomas C.
Walsh, Thomas F.
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 451
REV. THOMAS FAREELL,
PASTOR OF THE CHUKCU OF ST. JOSEPH.
THE Rev. Thomas Fairell, who has for more than
twenty years been the spiritual guide and father
t)f the flock gathered under the invocation of the Patron
of the Universal Church, is a native of Ireland.
He was born in the County Longford in 1823, and
came to this country in childhood. After studying the
rudiments in local schools, he entered the College of
Mount St. Mary's, at Emmettsburg, and was graduated in
that institution. At the close of his theological covu-se in
the seminary connected with the college, he was ordained
priest some time in the year 1847.
The next year, having joined the Diocese of New
York, he was appointed chaplain to the mother house of
the Sisters of Charity at Momit St. Vincent, and minis-
tered in the beautiful chapel still standing within the
limits of the Central Park. He was soon after associated
with the Rev. Richard Kein as one of the assistant
priests at St. Bridget's Church.
At the close of the year 1852, the Right Rev. Bishop
Hughes, satisfied with the ability and zeal he had dis-
452 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
played, apjiointed liim pastor of St, Paul's Church, Har-
lem, aud he remained in charge of that church till the
year 1864. He was then called to the more important
city parish of St. Mary's, which he directed till his
appointment as pastor of St. Joseph's, in 1857.
His career in tliis parish has been one in which he
has won the esteem of the people confided to his care,
as an earnest, pious, solid priest. Among liis fellow
priests he is esteemed as one of clear and vigorous
mind, a wise comisellor in diificulty.
The Rev. Mr. Fai-rell was one of those who took a
deep interest in the late Orestes A. Brownson. When
circumstances compelled that illustrious convert to stop
the publication of the Review, which had done such ser-
vice to the cause of truth from the time of his conver-
sion to the faith, the Rev. Mr. Farrell, with the late
Rev. Dr. Cummings and others, raised a fund and pm--
chased an annuity for the great Catholic philosopher.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH (GERMAN).
EAST EIGHTY-SEVENTH STREET, YOKKVILLE.
ALTHOUGH a Catholic chm-ch at Yorkville had
afforded Catholics for some years the opportu-
nity of taking part in the Holy Sacrifice and approach-
ing the sacraments, still, as the number of German
Catholics increased, they began to thinlc of forming a
congregation by themselves.
The right reverend Fathers of Third Sti'eet freely
permitted mass to be said in the asylum for the Cathohcs
of their nationality. For some years, the Rev. Theresius
S. GezoAvsky attended this little flock withovit being able
to obtain such aid as would justify conunencing to build
a chiu'ch.
The congregation had, however, grown so rapidly
that the most influential German Catholics of Yorkville
thought of having a church of their own. They called
on Father Bapst, the late provincial of the Jesuit Fathers
of New York, and begged of him to give them a priest
■ CHURCH OF yr. JOSEPH. 455
of the Society of Jesus for commencing the work. As
otlier religious orders were administering to the German
CathoHcs in New York^ it was only becoming that the
society to which the pioneer priest — ^the German Jesuit,
Father Farmer — belonged, should also labor in the
same field. In consequence, the Reverend Father Bapst
acceded to their request, and, with the pennission of his
Eminence, the Rev. Joseph Durthaller, an experienced
priest, was selected for the new parochial duties. He con-
tmued to occupy wnth his flock the Asylum chapel while
he erected a new church which took the same name,
that of the Universal Patron of the Catholic Church.
Five lots of groimd on Eighty-seventh Street were pur-
chased of Mr. S. Hillebrand, and on this spot the erec-
tion of a fine brick church was begun, in 1873,
under the supervision of L. O'Connor, Esq., architect. It
was completed early in the following year. The new
Chm-ch of St. Joseph, forty-six feet in front by ninety-
six in depth, was dedicated by the Most Reverend
Ai-chbishop McCloskey on the 26th of April, 1874. Af-
ter the edifice had, by lioly rite and prayer, been set
apart to God's service, a High Mass was offered by the
Rev. William Gockeln, S.J., President of St. John's
College, Fordham, and a sermon was preached on the
happy occasion by the Rev. Joseph Wirth, C.SS.R., of
the Chm-ch of the Most Holy Redeemer.
Annexed to the church is an office and a parochial
456 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
residence, erected at the same time as St. Joseph's, the
whole costing about forty-eiglit thousand dollars.
The church contains a hundred and foiu- 2:)ews, and
will accommodate about a thousand persons. It has been
well attended, not only by Germans but by other Catho-
lics in the vicinity, and promises, in a few years, under
zealous care, to become a fervent and tlu'iving parish, as
the number steadily increases.
In 1877, there were in this church one hmidred and
eighty-nine baptisms and sixteen marriages.
The reverend pastor is assisted by two other Fathers
of his order, the Rev. John Hackspiel, S.J., and the Rev.
G. Frederici, S.J. To encourage piety in their flock, they
have established a benevolent society for men, an Altar
Society, and three sodalities — one for married women,
one for young men, and one for yovmg women.
Fathers of the Society of Jesus cannot be indifferent
to the cause of Catholic education. A school was at
once organized in the parish, and, till a suitable building
can be erected, the pupils, now numbering one hundi-ed
and sixty, tlu-ough the kindness of the Redemptorist
Fathers, attend the school at the Orphan Asylum under
their charge, in Eighty-ninth Street. The new school-
house is to be erected in 1879.
Besides the duties connected with the parish, the
Fathers at St. Joseph's attend the House of the Good
Shepherd, Ninetieth Street and East River. This noble
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 457
institution was established in 1857, at 191 East Four-
teenth Street, by the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady
of the Good Shepherd, and was subsequently removed to
its present location. Its object is the reformation of pen-
itent women, who desire to leave a life of sin. For
those who, entering themselves, wish, with God's grace,
to remain away from the world and its temptations, there
is connected with the Convent of the Sisters a Magdalen
House of Reformed Penitents, under the rule of the
Third Order of St. Teresa. This extensive establishment
contains, in the Convent of the Good Shepherd, thirty-
four professed choir sisters, and sixty-two others belong-
ing to the community ; seventy-one of the Order of St.
Teresa, governed by the Sisters of the Good Shejjherd,
and thi'ee hundred and fifty-eight voluntary penitents and
detentioners.
458
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YOKK.
,R.OLL
OF
Honor.
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH (EAST EIGHTV-SEVENTH STREET).
Ahans, H.
Hesse, Joseph.
Amend, Barbara.
Hertel, Francis.
Amend, Eliza.
Hillenbrand, F.
Baab, George.
Kert, E.
Baab, Henry.
Lanz, Frederick L.
Baab, Peter.
Leininger, Adam.
Berman, Jacob.
Ludwig, A.
Bolender, Charles.
Meixel, Ignatius.
Clemens, C.
Realan<ler, Anton.
Deckelman, \Villiam
Rebman, Josephine, Mrs.
Ebel, Sebastian.
Repp, Charles.
Eichorn, Joseph.
Ruppert, J., Mrs.
Ehret, George.
Schappert, John.
Elfring, Bernard.
Schmidt, Charles.
Fmike, Francis.
Sommcr, Henry.
Geiger, F.
Stein, F.
Gobel, Gustav.
Stoiber, Jacol).
Henning, Mary M.,
Mrs.
Warrman, Robert.
Herbold, Herman.
Weiss, Fridolin.
Herold, Julius.
Wetzel, Stephen.
Wurtenberge
', Martin.
CHURCH or ST. JOSEPH. 459
REV. JOSEPH DURTHALLER, S.J.,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH (GERMAN), YORKVILLE.
THE pastor of St. Joseph's Cluircli is one wlio lias
]al:)ored, in various parts of the State, in the
ministry, and in the great work of Clii'istian education.
He was born on the 28th of November, 181 D, at
Altkirch, then in the department of Haut Rhin, France,
in that Alsace which Bourbons won and Bonapartes lost.
Devoting himself to the service of God, he entered a
seminary, and was ordained at Strasbourg by Mgr. Roess,
Bishop of that city, on the eve of Christmas day, in
the year 1843. His first year of priesthood was spent
as one of the teachers in an admirable academy, the
Institut de la Toussaint, established at Strasbourg by the
Abbe Bautain ; but as he felt himself called to a relig-
ioiis life, he entered the Society of Jesus, October 13th,
1844. He was soon after sent to the American Mission,
arriving in New York in May, 1849. His first year
was spent among the Iroquois Indians, at Caughnawa-
ga, near the Sault St. Louis, above Montreal. He was
then successively at St. Mary's College, IMontreal, and at
Quebec.
4G0 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
In New York he was attached to the College of
St. Francis Xavier, and held the responsible position of
president of that institution from 1860 to 1863. Dimng
his continuance in office, finding the old college insuffi-
cient for the wants of the students, he projected a new
and finer structure, and erected the large eastern portion
of the new college. Having been afterwards sent to
Buffalo, to take charge of a German congregation, he
erected St Michael's, one of the most splendid churches
in that city.
His labors at St. Joseph's appear in om* sketch of
that church, and need not be repeated.
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CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH (GERMAN).
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH STREET AND NINTH AVENUE,
MANHATTAJJTVILLE.
A
BOUT the year 1859, the need of another church
was felt at Manhattan\'ille, and a priest was as-
signed to minister to the German CathoHcs in thnt disti'ict.
The Ladies of the Sacred Heart kindly granted the
use of a little chajDel on their extensive and beautiful
grounds, and in this for a time the new congregation,
placing itself under the patronage of the glorious patri-
arch St. Joseph, enjoyed all the ministrations of their
religion.
When the little society felt able to undertake the
work of erecting a chiu'ch, foiu' lots of ground were
pm'chased, in 1860, and the present church erected. It
was dedicated on the 5th day of September, 18G0, by
the Very Rev. WilUam Starrs, Vicar General of the
diocese.
St Joseph's is a handsome brick chiu'ch with a
stone basement ; it is forty-five feet in width by one
hundred in depth, and is elegantly frescoed by Giovan-
elli. The organ is a fine one, made by Engelfried, at a
cost of three thousand five hundred dollars.
CIIUECH OF ST. JOSEPH. 4G3
With its o-allcries the church will seat six Imudi-ed,
and cost originally about htteen thousand dollars.
The first pastor assigned to this chiu-ch, October
21st, 18G0, was the Rev. F. Karel, who continued to
officiate here till June 20tli, 1864, when he resigned;
and, after some pastoral duty in the Chui-ch of the Im-
maculate Conception, Melrose, is now chaplain of the
Franciscan Sisters at Peekskill.
The next pastor was the Rev. Dr. Gerber of the
Order of St. Francis, who was recalled by his superiors
in the following year. The Most Reverend Archbishop
then appointed the Rev. Anthony Kesseler, who is still
pastor of St. Joseph's.
Tlie pastor finding the chiu-ch in diflicult}' went to ^vork
energetically, and, by the strictest economy in all details,
restored the credit of the church and paid off a con-
siderable amount of the debt, meeting demands in full.
Coeval with the building of the church, a school
was organized and lay teachers were engaged to conduct
it, but in 1869, the Ladies of the Sacred Heart kindl}-
undertook to teach the girls, as they do to this day. The
boys remain under la}' teachers. The pupils number in
all about two hundred children.
Sunday-schools were established, both for Gei-man
and English children.
In 1871, the Rev. Mr. Kesseler enlarged the church,
at a cost of six thousand dollars and procm-ed new bells
464
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
for the steeple; and tliree years after he erected the
handsome and commodious pastoral residence near the
church.
The Rev. Mr. Kesseler is assisted by the Rev. Ig-
natius Delveaux. There are masses daily in the church'
and on Sundays and holidays two masses at seven
and eight; a high mass with English sermon at nine
o'clock; and another with sermon in German at half
past ten.
Roll of Honor.
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH,
(WEST ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH STREET).
Baldwin, Mrs.
Banks, Mary.
Becker, John.
Becker, Philip.
Borst, Charles, Mrs.
Brendel, John.
Bried, Gertrude.
Daly, Daniel.
Daly, Matthew.
Daly, Timothy.
Daly, Timothy, jr.
D'Esterhazy, Paul O.
Doran, Thomas.
Doyle, James.
Dunican, Patrick.
Erving, Edward, Mrs.
Faulhaber, Philip.
Ferdinand, John.
Fink, Adam.
Fischbach, Charles.
Geoghegan, Stephen J.
Grinnon, Daniel, Mrs.
Halpin, Z. J.
Herring, William, Mrs.
Hines, Edward.
Hopper, Isaac.
Klemm, Elizabeth.
Klemm, Kate.
Klemm, Magdalena.
Kennedy, Michael.
Kniffen, William.
Lerche, Alprecht.
Loughran, Charles.
MaidhofT, Conrad.
Mansfield, Maria L., Mrs.
Martin, John.
Mar.\, A., Mrs.
Marz, Frederick.
Meyer, Adam.
Murphy, John.
Murray, Mary, Mrs.
Noonan, Michael.
Ohmeis, Peter M.
O'Neill, Charles.
Orthaus, Joseph.
O'Shea, Patrick.
Reid, John.
Schneider, Theodore.
Stewart, Alexander T.
Sullivan, Charles.
Sullivan, James.
Sullivan, John.
Sweeny, Ellen.
Theis, John.
Tone, Thomas.
Wagner, Frank.
VVillard, Mrs.
Windolph, Frances.
Zchweitzer, William.
Zweifel, Joseph.
^^^^Xi^^5i^^.-<^i<^^2-^^r^
CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 465
REV. ANTHONY KESSELER,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH, MANHATTANVILLE.
THE pastor of St. Joseph's Chm-ch is a native of
the Rhenish Province, in Germany. He was
born in the year 1840.
He came to the United States while still in his
boyhood, in the year 1851, and entered a collegiate
institute directed by a talented convert, Dr. White. From
this he proceeded to St. Peter's College, in Cumberland,
Maryland, dhected by the Redemptorist Fathers.
As he had made choice of the ecclesiastical state, he
entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, the oldest theo-
logical school in the country, directed by the Society of
St. Sulpice. He completed his divinity course, however,
in the Seminary of om- Lady of the Angels, at Niagara
Falls, and Avas ordained priest in old St. Patrick's Cathe-
dral, New York, on the 22d of April, 1865, by the
Most Reverend Archbishop, at present his Eminence
Cardinal McCloskey.
He was at once assigned to duty as assistant pastor
of St. Nicholas' Church, where he remained several
months, exercising his first ministry in that parish.
30
466 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
He was soon called to another position ; tlie Most
Reverend Archbisliop selected liim to undertake the diffi-
cult task of extricating St. Joseph's Chitrch from its
embarrassments.
He was accordingly appointed pastor on the 5th of
September, 1865. He has been singularly successful in
relieving the chiu'ch from its troubles, restoring general
confidence, rediicing the debt, eidai'ging the sacred edifice
itself, and enhancing the usefulness of the schools.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH, fOi:i!MAN).
WASHINGTON' AVKNUK XICAU ONJ; IIUNDUKD AND aKVUNTY-SIXTII STRBKT.
CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH.
WASHINGTON AVENUE, NEAR ONE IIUNDKED AND SEVENTY-SIXTH
STEEET, TREMONT.
TREMONT, formerly in Westchester County, but in
the portion recently added to the Cit}' of New
York, has a church dedicated to the great St. Joseph.
It is another proof of the widespread devotion among
the Catholics of the city to that saint, one of whose
ardent clients, the great St. Teresa, declared that she
never sought any favor thi-ough his intercession in vain.
The chiurch in Tremont is due to the zeal and ac-
tivity of a priest known by other labors in the city —
the Rev. Joseph Stumpe. Finding that the locality was
without a church, that the faithful ought, if their piety
was not of the most tepid kind, to be able to erect a
suitable chm-ch, he gave himself to the vmdertaking.
The confidence in the Catholic body there was not
misplaced. The proposal to erect a chiurch was re-
sponded to; a site was sought and soon found, at ^vhat
was deemed a reasonable price, and plans obtained for a
church of solid and enduring character.
The corner-stone was laid in the month of October,
CHURCH OP ST. JOSEPH. 469
1873, and the church work was puslied vigorously dur-
ing the winter, so that the new edifice was dedicated on
the Sunday after the ensuing feast of the Holy Patri-
arch, March 22, 1874. The Very Rev. William Quinn,
V.G., officiated on the consoling occasion, assisted by
the pastor, Rev. Joseph Stumpe, and a number of clergy-
men assembled to join in the joy of the congregation.
A Solemn High Mass was then offered by the Rev. R.
Kleineidam, C.SS.R., assisted by Fathers Jungbauer and
Daiermayer, as deacon and subdeacon. The sermon was
preached by the Rev. Joseph M. Sorg, pastor of the
Church of St. Louis in Bufialo ; and after the post-com-
munion the Very Reverend Vicar Greneral congratulated
the German Catholics of Tremont on then- fidelity to the
faith amid the persecutions and false ideas of the nine-
teenth centmy, and on the zeal of which their church
was so noble a monument.
The Chm-ch of St. Joseph is a fine structm-e, in the
modern Gothic style, forty feet in width by a hundred
and twenty-five in depth, with windows of stained glass,
the decorations and the general apjjointments of the in-
terior being carried out in the utmost elegance and
taste.
This Chm-ch of St. Joseph cost about fifty thousand
dollars. The interior is handsomely finished, in a neat
and effective manner. There is a high altar, with two
side altars and a spacious sanctuaiy.
470 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The basement of tlie chm-cli, which, being on a level
with the street, is high and airy, is at present used
as a school.
The reverend founder of the church was succeeded,
in 1874, by the Rev. J. Sorg, who was appointed by
the Most Reverend Archbishop as resident pastor. In the
early pai-t of the year 1877, the present pastor. Rev.
Nicholas. Tonner, succeeded to the charge.
Connected with the church are the Society of St.
Joseph, a charitable organization, and the Altar Society
of the Immaculate Conception.
The Sunday-school is carefully directed, and has
about a hundred and fifty pupils.
The congregation is not at present very large, but
it is one that must increase, and fill the beautiful chm-ch
edifice they possess.
i'Mi^-a-i'^d
■o-'j^-n-e
CUURCH OF ST. JOSEPH. 471
REV. NICnOLAS J. S. TONNER,
PASTOR OF ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, TREMONT.
THE pastor of the chm-cli at Tremont is a young
and capable priest, the second one of the fam-
i^y engaged in the ministry in the Diocese of New
York — his cousin being parish priest at the Chm-ch of
St. Mary Magdalen.
The Rev. Nicholas J. S. Tonner was born April 4,
1850, at Stewardstown, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
His early education was received at the parochial school
in the neighboring town of Sharpsburg, and he is thus
a proof of the fruits of our parochial system of educa-
tion. To complete his studies he entered the Colle"-e of
St. Vincent, Westmoreland County, under the direction
of the learned Order of St. Benedict; and, being called
to the ecclesiastical state, went tlu-ough his philosophy
and divinity studies in the theological school of that
abbey, where he was graduated, in June, 1876.
He came to New York for ordination, and was the
first on whom Archbishop McCloskey conferred any holy
orders after he had been created a Cardinal. The Rev.
Ml-. Tonner received minor orders at liis hands in St.
472 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Patrick's Cathedral, August 20, 1876 ; and was ordained
priest by Bishojj Loiighlin in his cathedi'al, Brooklyn,
on the 24th of the same month.
He made his fii'st exercise of the ministry in the
parish of St. Mary Magdalen, where he was a curate,
till his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey, in February,
1877, confided to him the jiastoral care of the flock
gathered at Tremont, under the fostering protection of
St. Joseph.
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CHURCH OF SAINT LAWRENCE OTOOLE.
EIGHTY-FOURTH STREET, NEAR FOURTH AVENUE, YORKVILLE.
IN the year 1851, when Mount St. Vincent and the
Convent of the Sacred Heart stood grandly out in
the northern part of the island like two bulwarks of
Catholicity, the number of the faithful began to increase
so that new churches were demanded — new centers to which
the people might more readily tm-n — monuments, as it
were, ever before their eyes, to remind them of what
they were by baptism, and what they should be in
deed and in practice.
The Most Reverend Archbishop Hughes assigned to
the Rev. E. J. O'Reilly all the disti-ict on the eastern jjart
of the city, between St. Paul's, at Harlem, and the Chm-ch
of St. John the Evangelist. The new pastor entered his
parish with courage and hope, and, taking liis stand about
the center, looked around for a spot where the cross
of Catholicity might glitter amid the clouds on the spire
of a consecrated temple. He found a site adapted to
his purpose on Eighty-fom-th Street, between Fourth and
Fifth Avenues. It was soon purchased, and the little
CHURCH OF ST. LAWRENCE O'TOOLE. 475
congregation which he had provisionally gathered in a
temporary chapel prepared to lay the corner-stone.
On the 20th of October, 1851, the gronnd was
cleared, the foundation of a new church laid, a cross
planted where the altar was to stand, and all was in
readiness for the ceremony. The Most Reverend Arch-
bishop came in person to give dignity to the service.
Catholics full of pious pride, others led by ctu^osity,
came in a vast crowd to witness the sacred rite of the
Catholic Church. After the usual ceremony and bless-
ing of the stone, the Archbishop spoke of the solemnity
of the prayers, music, and ceremonies of the Catholic
Chiu-ch. But, sublime as these were, he reminded his
hearers that it was for another and higher pm-pose that
churches are built. They are built on accomit of the
altar that consecrates and gives them sanctity. They
are built for that which is the essence and center of
all divine worship — the offering of sacrifice.
The Rev. Mr. O'Reilly continued in the parish until
the following year, struggling to erect the chiu-ch which
was to be named in honor of the great St. Lawi-ence
O'Toole. He was succeeded in his laborious undertaking
by the Rev. Walter J. Quarter, a native of KiUurine,
Kings County, Ireland, a priest of experience, who had
been Vicar General and Administrator of the Diocese of
Chicago. Under Ms care the new brick church was rap-
idly completed, and in the eariy summer of 1854 it was
476 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
ready for the solemn rite which was to hallow the altar
for the offering of the sacrifice. The solemn ceremony of
dedication took place on the 11th of June in that year.
The church was crowded with worshipers. It was esti-
mated that there were eight hundi-ed in the pews and
tliree hundred in the galleiies, showing that the new
chapel would not lack a congregation.
The ceremony of dedication was performed by the
Very Rev. William Starrs, then Vicar General of the
diocese. The holy prayer was said, and, with smoke of
incense and aspersion of holy water, the chm*ch was
blessed under the invocation of St. Lawrence O'Toole,
the latest of the servants of God who have adorned the
Irish chm'ch, in whose case the process of canonization
was completed before England had made the faith of the
saints the object of its persecution. Tliis great saint, the
son of a i^rince, was born near Dublin, and was in boy-
hood a hostage in the hands of Dermot McMurrogh, by
whom he was cruelly treated. When restored to his
father, he showed a longing to renounce the world, and
entered the Abbey of Glendalough, of which he became
abbot at the age of twenty-five, so impressed were the
monks with his virtues and ability. Five years afterwards
he was chosen Bishop of Dublin. Here his sanctity was
conspicuous. He beheld liis episcopal . city ravaged by
Strongbow, and the English attempt to overtlu-ow tlie
national existence of his country. He himself was nearly
CnUKCH OF ST. LAWRENCE O'TOOLE. 477
killed in England. He attended the Third Council of the
Lateran and was made Legate of the Pope in Ireland,
Having gone to Normandy to prevent Henry II. from
making war upon Roderie, the last of the Irish kings,
he died at the monastery of Eu, November 14th, 1180.
A miracle was wi-ought by a relic of this saint, on
the coast of Maine, in 1613, so that devotion to him
ma}- be said to have preceded all om- churches.
When the chm-ch bearing his name was at last
dedicated, the Very Rev. Mr. Starrs offered up a Sol-
emn High Mass, with the Rev. Isidore Daubresse, S.J.,
as deacon, and the Rev. Mr. Brady as subdeacon. Be-
sides these there were present the Rev. Walter Qiiarter,
the pastor, the Rev. James McMahon, of the Church of
St. John the Evangelist, and several seminarians.
After the gospel, the Most Reverend Ai-chbishop
Hughes preached, taking as his text Apoc. xxi. 1-3 :
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the
first heaven and the first earth was gone and the sea is
now no more. And I John saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God, pre-
pared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard
a great voice from the throne saying : Behold the tab-
ernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people ; and God himself Tvath
them shall be their God."
The reverend pastor almost immediately instituted
478 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
parocliial and Sunday schools, placing the gu-ls under
the care of the Sisters of Charity.
He remained in charge of the parish till his death,
in the month of December, 18G3. The Rev. Samuel
MuUedy, who had for a short time been assistant, became
pastor. He was assisted by the Rev. J. Coyle and the
Rev. J. Hassou ; but in 1866, the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop McCloskey requested the Fathers of the Society
of Jesus to assume the care of the parish. The Rev.
Fathers Marechal, John j\IcQuaid, Hector Glackmeyer,
William Moylan, William Gockeln, Joseph Shea, Florentin
Achard, and the present incumbent, the Rev. Jolui A.
Treanor, have since that time been pastors, assisted by
several Fathers of then* Society.
The schools have increased. Besides the parish schools,
taught by the Sisters of Charity and lay teachers, with
tlu-ee hundi'ed and nineteen boys and four hundi-ed and
thirty-nine girls, there is a tine select school, St. Law-
rence's Academy, conducted by the same Sisters, aftbrd-
ing a higher and ' more cultivated com'se. This institu-
tion has eighty-seven pupils. There is also a classical
academy for boys, under a lay teacher.
CHUKCU OF ST. LAWRENCE OTOOLE. 479
EEV. FATHER JOHN A. TREANOR, S.J.,
PASTOK OF THE C'HUKCH OF ST. LAWKENCK O'TOOLE.
THE career of a secular priest, and of" one who,
as a member of a religious order, belongs to the
regular clergy, differ. The former is a2:)pointed to a
parish, and where the canon law is established, it becomes
his field of labor for life. He regards it as a sphere in
which his talents, his ability, his zeal, are to be devoted
for the good of his flock ; and a separation as possible
only by his own will, or by a failure to meet the
requirements of the high responsibihties imposed upon him.
It is not so with a regular priest — that is, a priest
bound by a rule. Each order has its own special object,
to which its members are devoted, and parochial duty
comes onl)' incidentally. As priests, they have every
requisite, and are often indeed called upon by the Right
Reverend Bishops to assume the position of pastors of
churches, for which severe study, great experience in the
direction of souls, and austerity of life fit them ; but it
is not usual for a regular priest to remain attached to a
parish for a long series of years, and see a generation
grow up under his care.
The Chm-ch of St Lawi-ence is now under the
480 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Ijastoral care of the Rev. Father John A. Treanor of the
Society of Jesus. This clergyman was born in New York,
on the 5th of December, 1838, and was the first student
who entered the College of St. Francis Xavier, in Fif-
teenth Street, and the fii*st boy who served mass in the
church. After his studies here he renounced the world
and its allm-ements to enter the Society of Jesus, on the
31st day of August, 1855.
After liis novitiate he was employed in teaclaing at
St. John's College, and then pm-sued the jjhilosophical
and theological course as a preparation for the holy order
of priesthood. He was ordained on the 29th of June in
the year 1872, and was in that and the following year
at Frederick, Maryland.
In 1873, lie was appointed by the Superior of the
Mission in New York and Canada, under whose authority
he is, to the responsible position of vice-president of
St. John's College, Fordham, and then transferred to the
same position in the College of St. Francis Xavier, Fif-
teenth Street, New York, where he remained for two years.
Thence he was sent as vice-president to St. John's
College, Fordham, and at the end of the year was ap-
pointed pastor of the Chm-ch of St. Lawrence.
Like many of the Fathers in the establishments of
his order, his duty has not been merely parochial. He
has frequently given retreats in various rehgious commu-
nities to the members, and to those under their charge;
CIIUKCH OF ST. LAWRENCE O'TOOLE.
481
and lie has given missions in cliiu'ches in various parts,
impressing all with his earnestness, his zeal, and his
desire to win souls to virtue, and to warn them against
the snares and devices that are laid for the ruiu of the
innocent.
Roll of Honor
]!anett, Michael,
liarth, Adelaide.
Higley, Peter.
I!iady, Jolin.
Bienan, Daniel.
Brown, James F.
Bryan, Mary, Mrs.
Bullman, John.
Buscall, Charles F.
Byrne, Denis J.
Carr, John.
Casey, James.
Connery, Thomas B.
Connors, William.
Corbett, Peter.
Corson, Thomas.
Creeden, John.
Curry, Edmond J.
Crowley, James.
Cruise, William.
Dennis, James L.
Donohue, Patrick.
Donohue, Thomas.
Donovan, John J.
Doran, John.
Douglas, John A., Mrs.
Dowling, John C.
Duffy, Ann E.
Duffy, James.
Dwyer, Mary Ann, Mrs.
Erhet, George, Mrs.
Falvey, John.
Falvey, Thomas.
Fanning, Patrick.
Farley, John.
Farrell, John.
Farrish, James A.
Finn, Patrick.
Filzpatrick, Jeremiah.
Foley, M. W.
Ford, Dennis.
Gallagher, James W.
Gallagher, Thomas.
31
Gannon, James.
Gaynor, John.
Gearty, Thomas.
Geritzen, Herman.
Godfrey, John.
Gonoude, James.
Gorman, John.
Graham, Michael.
Greaney, William.
Griffin, Dennis W.
Hughes, Thomas.
Johnson, William E.
Jones, Charles.
Keleher, Patrick.
Kiernan, Terence.
Larney, Catharine, Mrs.
Long, I'atrick.
Loonam, Charles.
Lynch, James.
Lynch, Mary Teresa.
Lynch, Patrick.
McCabe, Thomas.
McCarrin, Maria F.
McCarthy, John D.
McCarthy, William H.
McConnellogue, Hugli K.
McCormick, P.
McDonald, P.atrick.
McDonald, William E.
McDonnell, J.
McGinness, Peter.
McGinnis, Hugh.
McGrath, Michael.
McGuire, Thomas.
McLaughHn, John.
McManus, William.
McManus, William F.
McManus, William J.
McPhillips, William.
Mc^uade, Anna.
McQuade, John J.
Martin, Michael.
Meaney, Patrick H.
Morris, James.
Mullan, John.
Mulligan, Nicholas.
Murphy, Owen.
Murjihy, Patrick.
Nast, Albert A., Mrs.
Newman, William H.
O'Connor, Edward J.
O'Donnell, Bernard.
O'Neill, John.
O'SuUivan, Jeremiah M.
Pertcl, Edward.
Pettit, Bernard.
Phel.an, John.
Power, William F., Mrs.
Reed, Charles C.
Regan, Timothy.
Reilly, Arthur.
Reilly, P. W.
Reynolds, Patrick.
Riley, L.
Ritter, Anton.
Roach, Richard.
Roby, Catharine E., Mrs.
Russell, William.
Ryan, Michael.
Ryan, Thomas.
Scallon, James J.
Sheehan, Michael.
Sheehy, Patrick.
Shields, Daniel.
Slattery, Patrick.
Spillane, Maurice.
Sullivan, John.
Sullivan, William W.
Tully, John T.
Twomey, John F.
Wall, Patrick J.
Wallace, David.
Walsh, Augustine.
Warren, Peter.
Wilson, .Susan, Mrs.
Woods, Bernard.
Wynne, John.
0 H U K 0 H OF SAINT MARY.
GRAND STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT MARY.
G K A N D STREET.
FROM the first gathering of the faithful, after the
Revolution had given Catholics nearly equal rights
with their fellow-citizens, there had been a steady increase
in the body. St. Peter's was long the parish church, not
only for the island, but for Brooklyn and New Jersey.
Then came St. Patrick's Cathedral, more centrally situated,
and affording advantages to many in what was the new
and growing part of New York. The Rutgers and De-
lancey farms, east of the Bowery, were built up during
the first quarter of the present century, and among those
who here secured homes for themselves were many Catho-
lics, who at last felt that they were able to erect
church and maintain a pastor. They were emboldened to
this by the fact that, the two cluu-ches were already
filled to overflowing at the masses of obligation.
The venerable Bishop Connolly had recently closed
his pious career, and the diocese Avas administered by
the Very Rev. John Power. With his permission and
approval, a new district and congregation were organized,
and some of the leading members looked for a suitable
j)lace for their intended church. Strange rumors of a
a
484 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
kind of scliism among the Catholics spread. It was
scarcely believed that they needed a new chm'cli. It was
a period of great commercial embarrassment and distress,
and some of the Protestant churches felt the influence.
The Seventh Presbyterian congregation, under the Rev.
E. W. Baldwin, found it necessary to sell their church
in Sheriff Street. This seemed to the new Catholic con-
gregation well adaj)ted to their pm-poses, and it was
accordingly pm-chased, in April, 1826, for seven thousand
tlu-ee hundred dollars. It was a small frame edifice, forty-
five feet in front and sixty in depth, with a brick front,
and a neat steeple in which hung a very large bell. It
was the first Catholic bell in New York ; for, apparently
from the force of habit, chapels in Ireland being at the
time prohibited from using bells, and Catholics having
become accustomed to do without them, none were at-
tached to St. Peter's or St. Patrick's.
The Very Reverend Administrator assigned to the
church the Rev. Mr. McGilligan, who said mass in the
new building from the fii'st of May, when possession
was obtained till its formal opening.
On Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1826, the church
was formally opened by the Rev. Hatton Walsh of the
Order of St. Augustine, who delivered a sermon on the
occasion, which was printed for the benefit of the chmxh,
in a pamphlet of twenty pages.
" It is a fact well known to many who now listen
CIIUECn OF ST. MARY. 485
to me," said the sacred orator, " that at no far distant
period a single chui'ch was amply sufficient to contain
the Catholics of this vast commercial city ; and when it
was deemed expedient to erect a sumptuous cathedi-al in
honor of the Most High, it was more than the warmest
friend of Catholicity could then expect, that its spacious
aisles should be filled with the followers of the ancient
faith. But so diligently has the vineyard of the Lord
been cultivated, and so fruitfuU}- has it flourished, that
in order to afford an opportunit)^ to every one of assist-
ing at the sacred mysteries of our religion, it has been
considered necessary to procure for their accommodation
this additional temple, in which I have the happiness to
address you on this day. And here, my bretlu-en, it
may not be superfluous to observe that the reports
wliich were industriously circulated concerning the inde-
pendence of this church were ungenerous and unfounded;
and, originating as the}' did in contemptible malice or
consummate ignorance, must long since have been dis-
carded from the breast of every upright Catholic. But
lest there should remain the slightest uncertainty in the
minds of our dissenting brethren — lest we should seem
to depart from that unity which is the distinctive char-
acter of the fold of Jesus Chiist — I take this public and
solemn opportunity of declaring that nothing has been
attempted in this afftiir without the warm sanction and
support of the respected Vicai" General of this diocese."
486 CATHOLIC CUURCUES OF NEW YORK.
The name assumed by tlie new cluirch was St.
Mary's, but it was not formally blessed. When, however,
New York was gladdened towards the close of that
year by the arrival of a bishojj, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Du
Bois, that prelate j^roceeded, on the great feast of the
Annunciation, March 25th, 1827, to dedicate the church
to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. It was the
first . church in the city dedicated by a bishop of tlie
see. The concoiu'se was very large; the ceremony,
wliich had not been seen on the island for many years,
attracted great attention, and the clergy, in what for
the times were imposing numbers, gave dignity to the
rite.
The congregation was not very large or wealthy,
but they were prospering, and the church with them.
The lii'st trustees were Messrs. Garret Byrne, Patrick
Sullivan, Andi'ew Fallon, Lackey Reynolds, Charles Coles,
Francis ITanratty, Peter Smith, Edward Flanagan, and
John Kent.
The Rev. Hatton Walsh, the first priest of St. Mary's,
remained the pastor about tln-ee years, assisted by the
Rev. Timothy McGuire. He was succeeded by the Rev.
Luke Beny, in whose time a school was opened in the
basement of St. Mary's, which, in time, gave priests and
a bishop to the chmxh.
The first St. Mary's was not, however, long enjoyed
by the Catholics. On the 9tli of November, 1831, a
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 487
burglar entered the sacred edifice, and, either influenced
by hatred or incensed at his faihire to find what he
expected, he set fire to the buikling-. Before anytliing-
coukl be done to check the flames, or the rec(jrds,
sacred vessels, and vestments could be saved, St. j\Iary's
was a mass of fii'e, and nothing was rescued from the
ruins except an iron safe, still in use.
This misfortune, with some previous troubles, broke
the heart of the pastor, who died on the 7th of De-
cember.
The Rev. Timothy IMcGuire, on whom the chief
burden now fell, at once secured a lease of a small
wooden building on Grand Street, between Pitt and
Willett, which had been erected in 1824 by the Epis-
copalians, as the Chm'ch of All Saints. This was in'e-
pared for divine service, and was the second St. ]\Iary's,
until the new chiu-ch was so far advanced as to afford
accommodation to the congregation.
The trustees, after the destruction of the old chm-ch,
decided, with the advice of the Right Reverend Bishop
Du Bois, not to rebuild on that site, but to dispose of
it and purchase a more eligible spot. Tlu'ee lots of
ground, with a front of seventy-three feet nine inches
on Grand Street, and ranning back a hundred feet on
Ridge Street, were bought from Stephen Allen for nine
thousand dollars, on the 25th of November, 1831, and
on this the new chiu-ch was begun in the following
488 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
January, altliougli the congregation was almost without
resources.
A lot adjoining on Ridge Street was acquired by
Bisho]) Du Bois for a parochial residence, and by him
conveyed to St. Mary's.
The comer-stone was laid on Monday, April 30,
1832, b}' the Right Reverend Dr. Du Bois, with a num-
ber of clergymen. The building was jjrosecuted with
spirit, and though the city was visited during the sum-
mer by that terrible scourge, the cholera, which then for
the first time dealt death throughout the city, St. Mary's
continued to rise. The ravages of the cholera in St.
Mary's parish were terrible, and the devoted pastor was
um-emitting in his attendance to enable all to make their
peace with God tln-ough the sacraments, dimng the short
period the disease left the unhappy victims for pi'ejDara-
tion. How severe was the duty of the priest in those
days may be imagined, when the writer can state that
from one house in that parish he saw five coffins
carried out in a single morning-. On the 28th of De-
cember, mass was offered for the first time in a tempo-
rary chapel in the basement of the new church. The
structiu-e which they had hired, with its unexpired lease
of about tlu-ee years, was then sold at auction.
. Proposals were then issued for completing the church,
and, as the congregation were anxioixs to enjoy to the full
the benefit of a suitable j^lace, it was soon completed.
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 489
The solemn dedication took place June Otli, 1833, tlie Rt.
Rev. Bishop Du Bois officiating on the occasion. Alter the
ceremony of the dedication, which was performed most im-
pressively, and Avas witnessed by a densely crowded clnn'ch,
including- many Protestants of distinction, the Right Rev-
erend Bishop celebrated a Pontifical High Mass. The music
was fine, being Haydn's First Mass, rendered extremely
well by the organist and choir. The dedication sermon
was preached by the Very Rev. John Power, V.Gr., and
is recorded as being one of the "most lucid and instruc-
tive of his discourses, replete with every argument which
profound reading and theological research could supply.''
At the conclusion of the mass, the Right Reverend
Bishop congratulated the congregation on what had been
accomplished, and announced that lie had committed the
pastoral charge of St. Mary's Clnu'ch to the Rev. William
Quarter, a young and energetic priest.
The new pastor went zealously to work, assisted by
Rev. ]\Ir. McGruire, who still remained. The parish num-
bered already many tluiving and prosperous business men,
increasing in wealth as contractors or dealers ; nearly all
of solid and unpretentious character, whose liberality was
soon evinced in the contributions for charity and religion.
The first appeal for the orphans had been made in the
old church I))' the Rev. Mr. Walsh, and for years, in the
annual collections for the Asylum, St. i\[ary's stood at
the head of the list, or very near it.
490 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The sacrament of confirmation was conferred for the
first time in the parish, on the Wliitsunday after the
dedication, b}' the Right Reverend Bishop Du Bois.
The establishment of scliools was one of the first ob-
jects of the attention of ]\Ir. Quarter. The Sisters of Char-
ity, at his appeal, began their noble work in the parish
in September, 1833, the reverend pastor having introduced
them almost against the advice of the trustees, and even
of the bishop, who thought that the project could not
possibly succeed. But Rev. Mr. Quai-ter relied on his own
energy. Tln-ee Sisters came ; they took control of the
parochial school in the basement of the church, and in
May, 1835, opened St. Mary's Academy, in the house No.
447 Grand Street — an institution since transferred to East
Broadway, and for many years the highest Catholic school
for young ladies in the city.
The Rev. Mr. Quarter remained pastor of St. Mary's
till his appointment as Bishop of Chicago, in 1844, and
during his pastorship was assisted by tlie Rev. Mr.
O'Beirne ; Rev. J. D. Teixcheira, a Avorthy Portuguese
priest, Avho for twenty-five years labored zealously in the
parish ; Rev. James Dougherty ; Rev. Walter Quarter, who
subsequently founded the Church of St. Lawrence ; the
Rev. Mark ]\Iurphy, a fine scholnr, well read in Greek
literature and mathematics, who died at Staten Island, a
victim of charity during the ravages of the ship fever.
About 1840, galleries were put up on each side of
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 49 1
the organ, for tlie use of the school children, and a steeple
reared above the church in 1842.
During' this period a Rosary Society was canonically
instituted, on the 25th of March, 1837, although a few-
pious persons among the laity had from an early period
foiTaed a sort of association for saying the rosary to-
gether, Lawrence Hannan being regarded as the founder
of the devotion. A Confraternity of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus was also instituted on tlie 26th of June, 1840.
In regard to these the Rev. Mr. Quarter himself wrote : —
"The pastor of St. Mary's Church, anxious for the
spiritual advancement of the congregation committed to
his charge, thought it advisable, as soon as convenient,
to establish confraternities and pious sodalities of the
rosary and the scapular. "When the members of the con-
gregation are attached to some religious society or con-
fraternity, they are more likely to attend to their relig-
ious obligations. They find occupation in prayer on
Sundays and festivals and other leism'e hom's, whereas,
if they were not attached to such societies, much of their
time might be wasted in vice and dissipation, in slander
and calumny, especially on those days when their worldly
occupations do not claim their attention, and when, for-
getting that the greater part of these days should be
spent in the service of God, they seem to think they
can idle them away or s^^end them in frivolous amuse-
ments or in sin. The poor especially experience much
492 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
consolation in attaching themselves to iiiiy pious sodality
or confraternity ; while the rich seldom attach themselves
to these associations. The least sacrifice of ease or pleas-
ure seems too much for them, and hence it is that their
souls grow cold in devotion ; the sacraments even, that the
Church commands them to approach at least once a year,
they neglect, and tliey seem to disregard the penalties
due their non-compliance.
" What a contrast the rich, who do not, and the poor
who do attach themselves to these sodalities, present in
the church on Sunday ! In the morning early the poor
are devoutly there preparing to feed their souls on the
rich banquet of the Body and Blood of Jesus Chi-ist. The
rich have not as yet raised their heads from off their soft
pillows. At the last mass the poor are there, fasting up
to the hour of midday, and then too happy if they be
permitted to approach the table of their Lord. They
press through the dense mass of people, and prostrate
themselves before the altar, their souls filled with devo-
tion and inflamed with divine love. The rich sit in
their pews, and look coldly and indifferently on them,
and appear like strangers in the house of their Lord and
Master — they have no regard for the spiritual favors and
heavenly blessings, gifts, and graces which God would
bestow on them were they faithful.
"At vespers the poor are again in the house of God.
The seats of the rich are empty. The psalm of praise
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 493
and canticle of joy is being sung. The rich join not in
the chonis ; the sacred melody has no charm for their
ears ; and they sit, if there at all, gazing idly or per-
haps ridiculing those simple, pious souls that are en-
gaged in the praise of their God. Not now even are
the poor tired of their devotions. Again they assemble
in the evening, to close the day Avith prayer, to read
pious books, and to recite the rosary. Thus it is that
the members of the several religious societies now es-
tablished at St. Mary's spend the Sunday."
His influence, and that of these religious associations,
in a short time made his words almost inapplicable to
his own parish, in which the regularity, the frequentation
of the sacraments, and the coirect lives, showed how
much had been effected by liis zeal.
While his flock was thus making solid pi-ogress in
the paths of Chi'istian piety, St. IMary's became in a
manner the cradle of the many Catholic churches in
our city.
In April, 1835, the German Catholics, who desired
to organize a congregation for themselves, obtained the
use of the basement of St. Mary's on Sunday mornings
and formed a little congregation which, in a short time,
founded the Chiurch of St. Nicholas, in Second Street.
Nor was this the only connection of St. Mary's with
the German Catholic body. On the second Sunday in
the Lent of 1840, the reverend pastor read from his
494 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
pulpit the reasons wMcli had induced John James Maxi-
mihan Oertel, a Lutheran minister, who had endured exile
rather than renounce what he deemed the piu'ity of his
religious belief, to abjm-e the heresy entirely, and seek
peace and ti'uth in the bosom of the Catholic Chm-ch.
lie had that morning' been received into the Chm-ch, and
made his profession of faith at the altar of St. Mary's.
He then devoted his talents to the diffusion of truth,
and has ever since ably edited a German Catholic paper.
St. Mary's Avas highly honored when, in 1844, the
Holy See selected its pastor for a position in the hier-
archy, although it greatly regretted liis loss. He was
succeeded by the Rev. William Starrs, who opened his
administration by introducing, in May, 1844, the devo-
tion of the Month of Mary. Drawing the ladies of the
congregation around him, he established the Ladies' Altar
Society, and in 1849 the Ladies' Benevolent Society,
which in twelve years distributed nearly fifteen thousand
dollars among the poor. He was earnest also in the
cause of temperance, Avhere the attempt at moral reform-
ation was based on the graces bestowed by God tlnough
the sacraments. St. Mary's Temperance Society was
founded by him in 1850, and on the 21st of October
in the tbllowing year the great apostle of temperance,
Father Theobald Matthew, gave the pledge in St. Mary's
to a very great number of persons in the congregation.
The Rev. Mr. Starrs erected a new residence for the
CUUKCII OF ST. MARY. 495
clergy of the parish; developed the schools, placing the
boys under the Brothers of the Christian Schools ; and
aiding the Sisters of Charity to establish their new house
on East Broadway. Seeing the great good done by the
missions, he in^ated the Redemptorist Fathers to his par-
ish, and the mission given by them in St. Mary's, in
October, 1853, one of the first in the city, was attended
by innnense crowds, and produced most salutary effects.
The Rev. Mr. Starrs was soon after transferred to
the Cathedral, having been assisted during his stay at
St. Mary's by the Rev. James McMahon, now ])astor of
St. John the Evangelist. Of the Rev. Mr. Starrs it was
said: "He displayed prudence, charity, zeal, and patience.
He won the approbation of his superiors, and secured the
confidence which they reposed in him. x\ll knew that in
the discharge of his official functions he displayed all the
virtues, and in an uncommon degree. One thing was
the foundation of all the rest — loyalt}- to his ecclesiasti-
cal superiors. He never swerved in the least degree
from what he owed to his bishop."
He was an able administrator of temporal affairs,
and besides laying out large sums in improvements, re-
duced the debt, ^vhich the Rev. Mr. Quarter had brought
down to sixteen thousand dollars, to four thousand.
The Rev. Thomas Farrell, now of St. Joseph's Church,
was pastor of St. Mary's from 1855 to 1857, assisted by
Rev. Messrs. McMahon, Carroll, and Egan. His energv
496 CATUOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
was directed to the erection of a suitable scliool-liouse
for the purposes of the parish, and he was gratified by
the success of his efforts. A substantial edifice in Pitt
Street was opened in 1(S55, under the charge of the
Clu-istian Brothers and the Sisters of Charity.
The Society of the Living Kosary — the new form
which has tended so much to keep alive the old devo-
tion to Our Lady — was also established in St. Mary's, by
the Rev. Mr. Farrell, October 1, 1854.
The next pastor of the church was the Very Rev.
Archdeacon McCarron, who came, in 1857, to pass the
remaining years of his life in the sanctuary of the Mother
of God.
With the vast increase of the Catholic population in
New York City, St. Mary's parish, including from the
East River to Pike and Allen Streets on the west, and
Stanton Street on the north, had become densely settled
with families who tln-onged the aisles of the old chiu'ch
on Sundays. The number of masses was increased to
five, but the" relief afforded was onl}- temporary.
The schools were similarly overcrowded, and as the
Rutgers Female Institute, a fine building on Madison
Street, erected some years before under the patronage of
the Crosby family, was for sale, the fashionable upper
parts of the city offering greater attractions for a young
ladies' academy of that character, it was pm'chased for
twenty-five thousand dollars, and opened in September,
CnURCH OF ST. MARY. 407
1860, as " St. Mary's Female Institute." It was admira-
bly adapted for the parochial school for girls, having
been erected for educational pm-poses, carefully planned
and well aiTanged, with every endeavor to give abun-
dance of light and ventilation. When the school for
girls Avas established here, the Pitt Street school was
occupied entirely by that for the boys of the parish.
The very reverend pastor was assisted by the Rev.
Peter McCan-on, Rev. James Boyce, Rev. P. Farrell, Rev.
M. McKenna, and Rev. John Donnelly.
Owing to the infirm health of the pastor, much de-
volved on the active and zealous Rev. Mr. Boyce, who
extended the pastoral residence in 1861, and, becoming
convinced that a division of the parish had become an ab-
solute necessity, purchased, with the approval of the ]\Iost
Reverend Ai-chbishop, a chm-ch on Rutgers Street, a sub-
stantial edifice erected by the Presbyterians, who had
worshiped on that site since 1797, but now beheld their
congregation dwindled away.
This edifice was placed under the patronage of the
holy Carmelite, St. Teresa, and the paiish of St. Mark's
was divided.
The old church was remodeled by the Rev. Mr.
FarreU in 1864, the congregation desiring to modernize
their now venerable sanctuary. The front was entirely
changed, and the towers added; the interior handsomely
painted in fresco ; a new and beautiful organ erected ;
32
498 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
and on Clii-istmas niorniug', 18G4, a new fine bell, weigh-
ing fifteen liundi-ed pounds, summoned tlie Catholics to
the restored shrine of Our Lady.
As it Avas e\adent that the ground occupied b}' the
paroclual residence would sooai be required by the chm'ch,
a new residence for the clergy was purchased on At-
torney Street, through the exertions of the Rev. Mr.
McKenna.
The venerable Archdeacon McCarron died February
23d, 18G7, piously closing a long life devoted to the
service of the altar. His obsequies draped the church in
mourning, and a hundi'ed and fifty priests gathered to
honor his memory. The Very Rev. William Starrs came
to his old church to sing the requiem, and the Most
Reverend Archbishop preached the funeral oi'ation.
The Rev. McKenna had ah'eady planned a further
division of the old parish, and, Avitli the approval of the
Most Reverend Archbishop, was engaged in erecting a
chiu'ch in honor of the patron of America, St. Rose of
Lima. St. Mary's was thus deprived of a large part of the
district in which she had so long ministered to the peo-
ple of God the bread of life, her spiritual childi'en, St.
Teresa and St. Rose, virgin followers of the Queen of
Virgins, coming to share her labors, her trials, and her
consolations.
In Ma), 1867, the Most Reverend Archbishop Mc-
Closkey appointed as ^oastor of St, Mary's the present in-
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 499
cimibeiit, the liov. Edward J. O'Reilly. As we have
seen, he came to the church to find its parish much di-
minished. It is now bounded by the East River, Clinton,
Grand, Norfolk, Stanton, Sheriff, Grand, and Jackson
Streets.
The new pastor set to work to reorganize and sys-
tematize the affairs of St. Mary's, and to make the cluu-ch
all that the parish could for many years require. A new
charter was obtained, by reorganizing under the law of
1863, and the ancient corporation conveyed to the new
body the property of the parish. The corporators are
the Most Reverend Archbishop, the reverend pastor, and
two gentlemen of the congregation.
The enlargement of the church was then decided
upon. The property long owned on Grand Street was sold
and another lot pm-chased on Ridge Street, this with that
occupied by the pastoral residence enabling them to
make the church a hundi-ed and fifty feet in depth. The
work was commenced in July, 1870, and completed early
in the following year.
On the 26th of February, 1871, St. Mary's Church,
as restored and enlarged, was dedicated anew to the
service of God by his Grace the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop McCloskey. In the High Mass wliich followed
the consoling ceremony, and in which the finest ecclesias-
tical nuisic and the most chaste and appropriate adorn-
ment combined to heighten the solenmity of the ritual,
600 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
a sermon full of eloquence incentive to devotion was
delivered by the Very Rev. Thomas S. Preston, V.Gr.
In the evening at the vesper service, which closed
the day of benediction, the Right Reverend John Lough-
lin, D.D., Bishop of Brooklyn, preached.
A new residence for the clergy was soon after com-
pleted, and St. Mary's was fully adapted in every i-e-
spect for a new career of usefulness, just as she closed
the fii-st half centmy of her existence. The cost of the
recent improvements had been ninety-three thousand dol-
lars ; but the church with the vestry now covers five
lots of land, the schools and parochial residence are
amply adapted to the wants of the parish, and the debt
is comparatively small.
It is to be hoped that the faithful will liberally
sustain this venerable sanctuary, which has not only
given rise, as we have seen, to two other parish chm-ches,
but has within its limits the German Church of Our
Lady of Sorrows and the Polish Church of St. Stanislaus.
On Sunday, May 14th, 1876, St. Mary's celebrated
its semi-centennial anniversary, on wliich occasion the
sermon preached fifty years before by the Rev. Hatton
Welsh was reprinted, with historical and traditionary notes
from the pen of Wm. Dougherty, Esq., which have made
the task of the annalist an easy one. He was one of
the oldest members, and had witnessed as a boy the
opening of the first church.
CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 501
To those wlio formed the congregation of 1876, as
well as to many who, removing to other parts of the
city, harl been unable to continue as constant worship-
ers before the first New York altar of Our Lady, the
day was one of especial joy. The celebration was one
of a character of which there had been fcAv instances
in the city. The church was iinely decorated, the
altar resplendent with ricli laces, drapery, floral offer-
ings, and lights. A Solemn High Mass was offered, with
the Rev. H. P. Baxter as celebrant, and the Rev. Messrs.
Rigney and Gleason as deacon and subdeacon. The rev-
erend pastor preached, dwelling of com-se on the history
of the chiu-ch in which he stood, but enlarging on the
perpetuity and unerring character of the Catholic Church,
the depositary of God's truth among men, beyond ^^•hose
circle of light all is darkness, lit u]) only by the evanes-
cent and phantom-like gleams of opinion — lights that do
not lead to safety, but liu-e men to doom.
The vesper ser\'ice was as densely attended, and a
sermon from the eloquent Very Rev. Thomas S. Preston
closed the ceremonies of tliis consoling day.
Besides the religious associations already mentioned, was
one not inactive on this day. It was the St. Mary's Library
Association, founded, in November, 1872, by the Rev. ]\Ir.
McEvoy. It is an incorjoorated body, in a flourishing con-
dition, occujiying an elegant house, No. 235 East Broad-
way, and has already shown its ability for gi'eat good.
502 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The schools are in a high state of efficiency and
prosperity. Tlie Clmstian Brotliers, in the Pitt Street
school, have six hundred boys under their care; and the
Sisters of Charity, in Madison Street, direct seven hun-
dred and fifty girh. Music and drawing- teachers attend
both schools. These institutions are supported mainly by
a ten-cent collection taken up by a regailar organization
ramifying tlu-ough the whole parish.
The historian of the parish says with honest pride :
" The number of religious male and female, who were
of St. Mary's childi-en, it would be now impossible to
determine. Sisters and clostered nuns, who sought their
vocation before St. Mary's altar, may be found through-
out the length and breadth of the land. Priests are nu-
merous and pastors not few who were among St. Mary's
boys, as was also the Rt. Rev. Prelate, Bishop McNeir-
ny." . . . " The best authorities among us estimate the
number of religious who found their vocation in old St.
Mary's as fully three hundred."
The Rev. E. J. O'Reilly has been assisted by the
Rev. Messrs. Thomas P. Neade, who died in September,
1873 ; John Drumgoole, since laboring in a special work
among homeless boys; Michael B. McEvoy, and II. P.
Baxter. The present cm-ates are the Rev. Patrick S.
Rigney, the Rev. John Gleason, and the Rev. Michael
J. Quinn.
Since its organization there have been fully forty
CHURCH OF ST. MARY.
503
tliousand baptisms in this cliureh. Even with the parish
circiimscribed and reduced, and other churches within
Its hmits where the sacrament is administered, the annual
baptisms exceed five hundi-ed.
Roll of Honor
.'\<kmson, Edward.
Barrett, John C.
Barrett, Patrick.
Baleson, James.
Battie, Sarah.
Beattie, Jonathan.
Blake, Charles P.
Bliel, Ann, Mrs.
Boyle, Mary Ann, Mrs.
Brady, Nicholas.
Browne, Thomas.
Burns, Denis.
Burns, John.
Butler, Michael.
Byrne, Daniel.
Callan, Mary.
Callanan, James.
■ Cantwell, John.
Canty, John.
Carberry, Michael.
Carr, Margaret, Mrs.
Carroll, Mary, Mrs.
Carroll. Thomas C.
Casey, Dominick.
Caulficid, Ann, Mrs.
Clare, Patrick.
Clarke, Matthew.
Cleary, Mary, Mrs.
Cluff, Thomas.
Coffey, Francis.
Collins, Cornelius.
Collins, Michael.
Condon, James.
Conlan, Anne.
Connell, Margaret A.
Connell, Mary, Mrs.
Conroy, Thomas.
Cook, Thomas.
Cooley, William, Mrs.
Coss, Bridget.
Coster, Henry.
Coyle, John.
Crawley, Henry.
Cregan, C, Mrs.
Cromien, Lawrence.
Crowley, John.
Crowley, Patrick.
Culhane, John.
Cummings, Thomas.
Cunnion, Patrick.
Curran, James.
Cushing, Martin J.
Daly, Peter.
Desmond, Patrick.
Devinney, Michael, Mrs.
Dillon, Timothy.
Donegan, Roger.
Dolan, Robert.
Donohoe, Jeftrey.
Donovan, John.
Donovan, Patrick.
Doorley, Etty.
Doran, E., Mrs.
Doran, Michael.
Douherty, Edmond.
Dougherty, William.
Dowling, Martin.
DriscoU, Catharine, Mrs.
DufTey, Benianl.
DniTey. Peter.
Duffy, James.
Dunn, Thomas.
Dwyer, Patrick J.
Dwycr, Timothy.
Ennis, Rosie A.
Fagan, Bridget, Mrs.
Farrell, Catharine J., Mrs.
Farrell, James.
Farrell, Thomas.
Finley, John.
Finton, Thomas.
Fitzgerald, John.
Fitzgerald, Michael.
Fitzhenry, Mary, Mrs.
Fitzpatrick, John.
Fitzpatrick, Patrick.
Flanagan, Bernard.
Fleming, Daniel.
Foley, Mary A., Mrs.
Follis, Dominick.
Fox, Patrick J.
Gafthey, E., Mrs.
Galvin, John.
Galvvay, Nicholas.
Geoghagan, Michael.
Goodwin, Mary, Mrs.
Gonzalez, John.
Haffay, Cornelius.
Haffey, John.
Hanly, Thomas.
Hart, Cornelius.
Hart, John.
Hayes, John.
Hayes, Richard.
Hill, Peter.
504 CATHOLIC CHURCHF.S OF NEW YORK.
Hogan, Thomas.
McNally, Bernard.
Purcell, Michael.
Horan, John F.
McReniflF, John.
Pye, Mary, Mrs.
Hoye, Joseph.
Macklin, James.
Quinn, Edward F.
Hughes, John H.
Maker, Dennis.
Regan, Mary.
Hyland, James.
Maher, Thomas F.
Reilly, Mary.
Jordan, John T.
Mahon, James.
Reilly, Michael.
Kane, Patrick.
Mahoney, Dennis.
Roche, Ann, Mrs.
Kavanagh, Annie, Mrs.
Mahony, David J.
Rooney, Catharine.
Kearny, Joseph O.
Malone, Ann, Mrs.
Rooney, Mary Frances,
Miss.
Keary, Patrick J.
Malony, Catharine.
Scott, Ellen L., Mrs.
Kelly, Francis.
Mancha, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Seavy, Jane, Mrs.
Kennedy, John J.
Mangin, Michael.
Shalbey, Edward.
Kennedy, Thomas.
Manning, Michael.
Shell, N.
ICenny, Patrick.
May, Andrew.
Sheridan, Edward.
Keohane, Dennis.
Meade, Thomas.
Sherry, Mary A., Miss.
Killevey, Thomas.
Meehan, James.
Shorky, John, Mrs.
Lane, Daniel.
Meehan, John M.
Sinnott, James.
Lane, Thomas.
Melville, Dennis.
Slattery, David.
Lang, Alice, Mrs.
Mitchell, Maigaret A.
Slattery, J.
Larkin, James B.
Molony, F.
Smith, Charles B.
Leonard, Bridget.
Monaghan, Owen.
Smith, Hugh.
Lowney, Martha.
Moore, James.
Smith, Mary.
Lynch, Joseph A.
Moore, Margaret, Mrs.
Soden, David H.
Lynch, Patrick.
Moran, Peter.
Stack, Edward.
Lynch, Peter.
Morgan, Sarah, Mrs.
Stackpole, Julia, Mrs.
Lyon, Mary, Mrs.
Mullins, John.
Stewart, Bridget, Mrs.
Lyons, Cornelius.
MuUins, Michael.
Stokes, Mary.
McArdle, John.
Mullins, William.
Sullivan, Cornelius.
McArdle, Peter.
Murphy, Daniel J.
Sullivan, John.
McBarron, James W.
Murray, CorneUus.
Sullivan, Lizzie.
McCarthy, Charles.
Murray, James.
SulUvan, Mary, Mrs.
McCarthy, James.
Nagle, Patrick.
Sullivan, Michael.
McCarthy, Mary, Mrs.
Nevin, C.
Swanton, John.
McCarthy, Michael.
Nolan, Anthony.
Sweeney, Patrick L.
McClancy, Stephen.
Nolan, Ella, Miss.
Taylor, Bridget.
McCormick, Peter A.
Nolan, John.
Taylor, Catharine.
McDevitt, Edward & Cath.
O'Brien, Daniel.
Tiernan, James.
McDonnell, James.
O'Brien, M.
Travers, James A.
McGrath, Roddy.
O'Brien, Owen.
Twigg, Timothy.
McGuire, J. T.
O'Conner, James.
Valentine, George.
McGuire, Mary, Mrs.
O'Conner, William H.
Wallace, William.
McKeever, Ann Teresa.
O'Connor, Patrick.
Walsh, Patrick.
McKenna, William James.
O'Connor, Richard.
Waters, Patrick.
McKerby, Bridget, Mrs.
O'Donnell, Andrew.
Welch, William J.
McKnight, John E.
O'Neill, D.
Whalen, Michael.
McLaughlin, Patrick.
Parsons, Frederick J.
White, Maurice.
McMahon, Ilonora, Miss.
Patten, Matthew.
White, Michael.
McMahon, Michael, Mrs.
Pratt, Michael.
Wilford, Francis.
REV. EDWARD J. O'REILLY,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY.
THIS clergyman, wliose thirty years' labor as a
priest in the diocese has received from his Em-
inence Cardinal McCloskey a token of appreciation in his
selection as a member of his conncil as Archbishop of
New York, is a native of the South.
He was born at Savannah, Georgia, on the first
day of September, 1824, while his native State formed
part of the Diocese of Charleston, then guided by that
glory of our episcopate. Bishop England. He Avas gradu-
ated at Mount St. Mary's, Maryland, and, after pm-suing
his theological studies at St. Joseph's Seminary, Fordham,
New York, he received priest's orders at the hands of
Bishop Hughes, on the 23d of September, 1848, in St.
Patrick's Catheth-al.
On the day of his ordination he was appointed
pastor of the Church of Oiu- Lady of Mercy, Portchester,
whence he attended also the Catholics at the old Hugue-
not settlement, New Rochelle. Finding that the Chm-ch
of St. Matthew at this point was likely to increase, he
made it his principal care, and in 1849 removed to that
506 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
place. He remained in charge of the two congregations
for some years, highly esteemed by his flock.
In 1853, he was appointed pastor of the Chnrch of
St. Patrick, in Newbiirgh, and directed every effort to
the good of his people and the interest of religion, the
children being his especial care. One of the earliest results
of his energy and zeal was a neat and comparatively
large school-house, in which were employed competent
secular teachers for both boys and girls; but at a later
period the girls were confided to the care of the Sisters
of Chanty.
"When Rev. Mr. O'Reilly foiled to obtain a share of
the public funds, to aid in can-ying on his schools, far
from being discouraged, he set to work with renewed
ardor to meet his responsibility.
During the fourteen years that he spent in New-
burgh, the parish of St. Patrick's prospered so under his
fostering care that it came to be regarded as one of
the leading parishes outside the City of New York.
The chm-ch, schools, societies, and the many great works
which cluster round a large parish, are the monuments
left by this zealous pastor to recall his memory. De-
spite his modest, humble manner — a manner that so often
effectually covers sterling worth — his people found the
key to those inner qualities that seldom appear on the
surface ; while those not of his own flock recognized in
him a man of high intellectual stamp. Therefore it is little
CHURCH or ST. MARY. 5Q7
to be wondered at that on going to tlie next scene of
his labors lie carried with him the love and gratitude
of his flock.
Towards the close of May, 1867, he was appointed
by the Most Reverend Archbishop to St. Mary's, which
at an earlier period was one of the most popiilovis parishes
in the City of New York. Here he continued his career
of usefulness, and soon learned that with narrowed re-
sources he must meet heav)^ church expenses and carry
on the schools.
When the Most Reverend Ai-chbishop McCloskey, in
1868, convened the third diocesan synod of his diocese,
the Rev. E. J. O'Reilly acted as secretary of that im-
poi'tant convention of the clergy.
In 1873, the Most Reverend Archbishop selected him
as a member of his council, one of his advisers and
consul ters in the management of important affairs relating
to the diocese.
On the 20th of September, 1875, he Avas chosen to
deliver, in St. Peter's Chm-ch, a sermon at the mass
offered for those who had gloriously laid down their
lives in defence of the Holy See.
His labors in his own j^fi^i'ish, and the improvements
accomplished by him, are already recorded in the sketch
of the clnu'ch, and need not be repeated here.
hH a;
B
H EH
r -<
O
W
o
CHURCH OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN.
KAST SEVENTEENTH STKEET.
THE church dedicated to the celebrated penitent
of the gospel, model, by her contrition and love,
of all who renounce the wide and flowery ways of sin
to tread the narrow and arduous way of the cross that
leads to life, is one of the most recent of the religious
edifices erected by the German Catholics of New York
City. It is due mainly to the zeal of the present pas-
tor, the Rev. Adam F. Tonner, who, while assistant at
St. Nicholas' Chm-ch, felt assm-ed that another German
chm-ch in that part of the city was peremptorily demanded.
The Most Reverend Archbishop was convinced by
the cogency of his arguments, and permitted the attempt.
In the district assigned to him, he looked around for a
suitable hall in which to gather the Catholics, and for-
tunately obtained a large room in Temperance Hall, on
the comer of Twenty-third Street and Second Avenue,
one of the Father Matthew temperance societies having
kindly given the new pastor the use of the hall for two
months.
Having thus secured a place where for tlie time he-
ing the Holy Sacrifice could be off"ered, he purchased
510 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW Yf)RK.
lots on Nineteentli Street, and commenced the erection
of" a church in honor of St. Mary Magdalen. The first
mass in the new district was offered up b}' the i)astor,
August 10th, 1873.
The cornei'-stone of the new edifice was laid li}- the
Rev. Father Joseph Wirth, then rector of the Chiu'ch
of the Most Holy Redeemer, in Third Street, and at
present pastor of the Church of St. Alphonsus Liguori.
The -work was then pushed on i-apidly, so that the
cluu'ch was completed before the end of the }'ear.
The Church of St. Mary Magdalen was solemnly ded-
icated to the service of Almight}- God, with all the
grandeur of the Roman rite, on the 12th day of Octo-
ber, 1878. The Ver}- Rev. William Quinn, Vicar Gen-
eral of the diocese, officiated on the occasion, and a
sermon was preached at the High Mass that followed,
the sacred orator being the Redemptorist Father Klei-
neidam. Many of the city clerg)- were present, among
others the Rev. Father Ivo, superior of the Capuchin
Fathers at the Clnu-ch of Om* Lady of Sorrows, and
Father Arnold.
The chm-ch thus opened to divine worship has since
prospered, the Di\^ne favor being manifest. As the" con-
ffresration has increased, there is a desire to erect a school-
house, and to obtain a convenient and suitable edifice
for a parochial residence.
GIIURC:n OF ST. UAUY MAGDALEN. 5II
REV. A I) A ]M FRANCIS T O N N E R ,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN.
THE pastor of the Chm-cli of St. Blary Magdalen
was born in Foehrer, near Treves, Priissia, on
the 5tli of December, 1835. He came to tliis country
in the month, of October, 1848, and, resolving to devote
his life and talents to serve God in His holy ministry, he
entered St. Vincent's College, Pennsylvania, and after a
preliminary training there, under the learned and experi-
enced Benedictines, he proceeded to Canada, and in the
Greater or Theological Seminary at Montreal, prepared
to receive those holy orders Avhich were to enroll him
among the priests of God. He was ordained by the
Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey, in St. Patrick's
Cathedral, on the 26th of June, 1865.
The iirst mission of the young priest was that of
assistant in the Church of St. Nicholas, on Second Street,
where he remained until he gathered a new flock around
the altar of the holy penitent of Magdala. Then he
erected the chiirch which is a conspicuous monument of
his zeal and perseverance.
His assistant is the Rev. Gallus Briider.
Roll of Honor.
Frank May. Frank Blaiseun. Jacob Bertram.
CHURCH OF SAINT MICHAEL
WEST THIRTY-SECOND STREET.
THERE seems to be evidence that to the mighty
Archangel St. Michael, the prince of the hosts
of the Lord, was dedicated the first Catholic chapel ever
reared on the soil of our republic. The churcli styles him
the " standard bearer," and he thvis bore the standard of
the faith into the territory we now occupy. It was most
fitting then that New York should have a church especially
dedicated to this great angel, where his jjowerful protec-
tion over our whole country might be more directly im-
plored.
St. Michael was the leader of the faithful ansrels
against Lucifer; he was the jn-otector of the Jewish
nation ; the prophet Daniel saw his power and influence ;
St. Jude and St. John tell us of his influence. The
Chm'ch constantly invokes him — in the mass at the Con-
fiteor ; in the incensing of the altar ; in the recommend-
ation of a departing soul, and in the Mass for the Dead;
in the Litany of the Saints. She celebrates two feasts
in his honor — liis apparition during a pestilence in Rome
on the 8th of May ; the dedication of a church under
his invocation on the 29th of September. To Catholics
33
614 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of New York, this last feast is also the anniversary of
the first martyr who, witliin the present limits of the
State, shed his blood for the faith of Jesus Christ.
It was a happy thought that led the Rev. Arthur J.
Donnelly to place under such a patron the parish con-
fided to his care, in the summer of 1857, by the Most
Eev. Archbishop Hughes. The rapid increase of Catho-
lics on the western side of the island, between the
Church of St. Columba and that of the Holy Cross, led
the Most Reverend Ai-chbishop to lay off a new parish,
extending from Twenty-eighth to Thirty-eighth Street,
and from Sixth Avenue to the banks of the Hudson.
As the young pastor was instructed to erect his
church as near midway as possible between the two ex-
isting chm'ches, biit further west, he piu'chased, for eleven
thousand dollars, a plot on Thirty-fii'st Street, between
Ninth and Tenth Avenues.
Before he could form any plans for erecting his
church, the great financial crisis of 1857 occurred. Thou-
sands were thrown out of employment, and this was es-
pecially the case in the parish of St. Michael. The very
site he had purchased was slipping from the pastor's
hand. A preliminary payment had been made ; more had
to be paid or the whole would be lost. Loans, obtained
with exertion among personal friends, enabled him to
overcome the first difiiculty. The ground was St. Mi-
chael's.
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. 515
To attempt the erection of a cliui-ch under such
ch'cumstances would have been madness ; but the Rev.
Mr. Donnelly was not one to sit still and wait. He was
a pastor, and his flock must have a place to meet and
offer up the Holy Sacrifice. In the rear of the lot was
a row of time-worn two-story frame houses. By re-
moving the floors and strengthening the frames, these,
with a cheap brick extension running to the street, formed
the temporary chapel of St. Michael and the residence
of the pastor.
On Sunday, the 20tli of September, 1857, this chapel
was formally opened, and mass celebrated, the Very Rev.
William Starrs, the Vicar General, and more than once
administrator of the diocese, preaching. When the pe-
riod of financial distress had passed, the Rev. Mr. Don-
nelly collected means to pay off the indebtedness he had
incurred, and to begin, in a quiet, steady way, to erect
the church. During the year 1861, when the country
was resounding with the din of civil war, the basement
story of the new church was built ai'ound the tempo-
rary chapel, the services in which were never distiu-bed.
When the new walls had risen to a sufiicient height, a
roof was tlu'own over it, the first structure removed, and
the new chapel was fitted ^lp for divine service.
The Holy Sacrifice of the mass was celebrated here
for the first time on the feast of St. Michael, when it
was dedicated by his Grace the Most Reverend John
516 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Hug-lies, who preached on the occasion, his text being,
" My house is the house of prayer."
The church as thus adapted for use was eighty feet
on Thirty-first Street, approached tlu'ough an entrance on
Thirty-second Street, where the buikhng was only twenty-
five feet wide. The front tliere was of brown stone.
Owing to the difference of the grade in the two streets,
the entrance on Thirty-first Street Avas much liigher than
the level (_>f the next street, and by slightly raising the
floor of the part intended for the chmxh, a convenient
room was obtained for school purposes.
In this somewhat em'ious but convenient chapel the
congregation continued to worship for some time, cheered
by the encouraging approval of the Archbishop to pro-
ceed with their edifice. Undeterred by the uncertain state
of public affairs, the pastor went bravely on. The front
wall and tower were completed in 1862, and in the en-
suing year the rear and side walls rose, and the cluu-ch
was enclosed. It was finally completed according to the
original plan early in 1864, and gave a fine church one
hundred feet in depth.
It was solemnly dedicated on the 10th of April,
1864, by the Very Rev. William StaiTS, administrator of
the diocese during the vacancy of the see after the death
of Archbishop Hughes.
The health of the pastor soon after compelled him
to visit Europe, but he returned full of courage, and
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. 517
ft
resolved to make his j^arish a model. His prospects de-
manded more land, and as occasion offered he purchased
piece after piece. Before many years he had acquired ten
additional lots, giving him fronts on the avenue and the
two adjacent streets.
In 1867, having ground for the purpose, he set to
work to carry his church tkrough its full width from
street to street — a length of two hundred feet. It
was, when thus completed, a peculiarly fine and grand
church.
The church, thus completed, was dedicated May 17,
1868, by his Grace the Most Reverend John McCloskey,
Archbishop of New York, who delivei'ed a sermon on
the occasion.
At the opening of his labors the pastor was struck
by the small number of children who appeared in the
chm'ch. He opened a Sunday-school, but few joined it.
The children had evidently not been trained by their
parents to feel the obligation of hearing mass on Sun-
days. Many, by attending the public schools under the
masked proselytism or religion-extirpating system there
prevalent, were growing up indifferent to all religion.
This was a ten-ible state of things, to be checked and
refonned. The Rev. Mr. Donnelly said a mass specially
for the children, and kept at his Sunday-school till lie
had twelve hundred Avho came regularl)- to mass and in-
struction. All he could do he felt to be inadequate,
518 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
yet lie was hot in a position to establish a Catholic
school.
At last, however, on the 10th of Jime, 1866, the
corner-stone of the girls' school was laid, by his Grace
the Most Rev. Ai-chbi,shop McCloskey, and the basement
built. When the extension of the chui'ch Avas completed,
the work on the schools was pushed, and both schools
were ready for use in 1870.
It was not enough to save the rising generation.
The Rev. Mr. Donnelly, to foster vocations in his parish,
opened a class for all who felt called to the ministry.
In 1867, when he proposed it, nearly a hundred pre-
sented themselves. Of these he selected twenty-five, and
they formed a nucleus of a body destined to give future
pastors to our churches. Eight of the original twenty-five
persevered. The Rev. S. J. Nagle, who completed his
studies at St. Sulpice, Paris, and was ordained in the
seminary at Troy, was the first fruits of Mr. Donnelly's
zeal. The Rev. Alfred Evans soon followed, and one by
one they were ordained for service in the missions.
The parochial schools were finally opened, to the
great joy of the parish, in September, 1870 ; the boys'
school with foiu- hundi'ed scholars, under seven teachers.
The erection of the gu-ls' school was completed some
years after, but it was a question how to insm-e a suc-
cession of competent teachers. The orders engaged in
instruction in the city seemed overtasked ; and, after long
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL, 519
deliberation and considtation, the Rev. ]\Ir. Donnelly con-
cluded that the interests of his parish would be most
advanced by introducing the Presentation Nuns — an Irish
order founded by Miss Nano Nagle, in the last century.
With the approval of the Most Reverend Archbishop, he
went to Ireland, in 1874, and obtained from the convents
of Terenure and Clondalkin, near Dublin, five confessed
Sisters, who, with Rev. Mother ]\Iary Joseph Hickey as
superior, came, accompanied by five postulants, to foiuid
the order in America. They were warmly welcomed by
the parish on their arrival, September 8th, 1874, and soon
after took possession of the convent prepared for them.
They opened St. Michael's parochial school for girls, with
six hundred pupils.
These schools with the parochial residence foi-m an
imposing mass of buildings on Ninth Avenue. They are
in modem Gothic style — the fii'st story of Connecticut
stone, the upper stories of brick trimmed with stone. The
windows are in doublets, with hooded and depressed pointed
arches. At each angle of the building is a tower. The
entrances on each street are fine ; that on Ninth Avenue
is surmounted by a panel of marble, with St. Michael
crushing the dragon in relievo. The rooms are well
lighted and ventilated, and there is a fine exhibition hall
reserved for great occasions. The whole structm-e was
erected under the supervision of the architect, Mr. L. J.
O'Connor, and cost about a hundred thousand dollars.
520 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The various cliurch building-s, with the schools, have
cost over fooi- hundi'ed thousand dollars, of which ninety-
two thousand remains unpaid.
The church is organized luader the law of March
25th, 1863, the original trustees in 1866 being the Most
Reverend Archbishop ; the Very Rev. William StaiTs, V.Gr. ;
Rev. Artluu' J. Donnelly, pastor; Edward Fitzpatrick, and
Michael Canning.
So zealous a pastor would naturally establish socie-
ties. The Association of St. Michael includes almost every
adult worthy of the name of Catholic in the parish.
Wliile it has formed the members to the practical dis-
charge of their spiritual dvities, it has quickened their
zeal, and this society has given more than one hundi-ed
thousand dollars towards the chiu'ch and schools, and de-
votes its whole revenue to the support of the latter. The
Young Men's Catholic Lyceum, founded by the Rev.
Thomas J. Ducey, and occupying a house of its own, is
destined to do incalculable good to the Catholic young
men of the whole city. There is also the St. Michael's
Total Abstinence Society, doing its good Avork.
The Presentation Nuns, since then- coming into the
parish, have established the Sodality of St. Monica, whose
objects are: First, to afford to adult women of every
state of life the beneiit of religious instruction in their
respective duties; second, to insm-e to its members the
opportunity of sanctifying the Sunday by giving a due
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. 521
2)roportion of it to religions exercise.s ; third, to pro-
mote the regular and devont frequentation of the sacra-
ments ; fourth, the proper training of the young ; fifth,
to promote peace, order, and cheerfulness in Christian
families ; sixth, the visitation and spiritual comfort of
the sick.
Among the deceased members of the parish, whose
generous contributions have encouraged Father Donnelly
in all his undertakings during their lives, or ^vllo have
left generous bequests, and whose names shall live in
the parish in gi-ateful remembrance, are Owen Kenny,
John O'Neill, formerly of Thirty-fifth Street; Cornelius
Doyle, Richard Murray, John ]\IcGrane, Malachi Fitzpat-
rick, Robert McCormick, William Wilson, Timothy Maro-
ney, Bernard Mm-ray, Michael Donnelly, James Conway,
late of Sixty-first Street; Owen Mallon, Patrick McElroy,
late of Lexington Avenue ; Daniel Early, Thomas Cos-
tello, Mrs. Margaret Byrne, Jlrs. Owen Mallon, ]\Irs.
Margaret Maguire, Mrs. Ann Ilurst, Mrs. Ann Led\vith,
Mrs. Francis McNulty, Mrs. Catharine McCusker.
Roll of Honor.
Bambrick, James. Brice, Charles. Callary, Mary A., Mrs.
Bathe, Christopher. Brice, Henry. Canning, Michael.
Bogiie, Thomas. Brice, John. Cannon, Mich.ael.
Boylan, Michael. Brown, Patrick. Carey, Thomas F.
Boyle, Thomas. Bryant, E., Miss. Carroll, Michael.
Bradley, Margaret. Bulger, P. J. Cassiily, Martin.
Brangan, Lawrence. Bush, Christopher J., Mrs. Clancy, John.
522
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Clarke, James.
Cleary, John.
Cockerill, Thomas.
Cody, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Coffey, Ann, Mrs.
Conboy, Michael.
Connell, Catharine, Mrs.
Connell, Peter.
Connolly, Catharine.
Connolly, Peter J.
Conroy, John.
Corcoran, Michael, Mrs.
Corrigan, Edward.
Coyle, Thomas V.
Craggy, John.
Curnen, James.
Darcy, Mary.
Davis, Mary.
De Noville, Zephine.
Dillon, James, Mrs.
Donnelly, D. M.
Donnolly, Michael, Mrs.
Donohue, William.
Doran, Edward A.
Dougherty, Felix.
Dougherty, Jolm.
Early, John.
Evans, Mrs.
Evers, K. L., Mrs.
Farley, Delia.
Farrelly, Maggie.
Finnin, Michael.
Fitzgerald, James.
Fitzgerald, Michael.
Fitzpatrick, B., Mrs.
Fitzpatrick, Edward.
Fitzpatrick, John.
Fitzpatrick, William, Mrs.
Flemming, Murtaugh.
Fox, Mary.
Fulton, John.
Gallagher, L. V.
Grace, Robert S.
Graham, Patrick.
Gregory, Mary, Mrs.
Hagan, Arthur.
Hagan, Bernard.
Hand, Arthur.
Hand, Michael.
Hannan, John.
Harty, Jeremiah.
Hatherley, Thomas R.
Haxton, William.
Hearn, Thomas, Mrs.
Hennessey, Patrick J., Mrs.
Hogan, John.
Horrigan, Thomas.
Hussey, Edward M. F.
Hurst, George.
Hynch, Patrick.
Jaques, Zackariah.
Joyce, Edward.
Keating, Patrick.
Keenan, William.
Kennedy, James.
Kenney, Daniel E.
Kenny, Peter D.
Kettle, Philip.
Kieran, John.
Kiernan, .\ndrew.
Laracy, Philip.
Lavary, Daniel.
Lee, Samuel.
Logan, Ann.
McAleer, Michael, Mrs.
McCabe, James.
McCann, Bridget, Miss.
McCarthy, Matthew.
McCoy, Patrick.
McCusker, Michael.
McDonald, James F., Mrs.
McElvey, John.
McGee, James, Mrs.
McGill, Richard.
McGookin, Andrew.
McGowan, Felix.
McGrath, Patrick.
McGrath, Philip.
McGuire, Thomas J.
McKenna, Charles.
McKeown, Edward.
McNaly, James.
Mack, Anton, Mrs.
Maher, Edward.
Mahon, Annie A.
Mahon, Richard.
Mahoney, Eliza.
Mallon, Charles.
Mallon, John.
Maloney, Thomas.
Mannion, Dennis.
Marron, Daniel.
Meehan, Patrick J.
Meredith, Philip.
Montague, Edward.
Morgan, Francis.
Mulligan, John.
Murphy, Catharine, Mrs.
Murphy, Bernard K.
Murphy, Johanna.
Murphy, John.
Murphy, Julia.
Murphy, Margaret.
Murray, Annie.
Murray, Peter.
Naglc, Michael H.
O'Brien, C. F.
O'Brien, John.
O'Brien, Patrick.
O'Donnell, Mary, Mrs.
O'Grady, James.
O'Hara, Arthur.
O'Neill, John.
O'Rourke, Ann, Mrs.
Phelan, Patrick.
Quinn, Daniel,
Quinn, Michael.
Raine, Thomas J.
Rayy, Josephine.
Reid, Mrs.
Reilly, John.
Reynolds, John.
Reynolds, Thomas.
Rice, Thomas.
Rogers, Francis.
Ryan, Cornelius.
Ryan, John.
Salmon, William.
Scully, Thomas.
Shannon, David.
Shey, Sylvester M.
Shine, Julia.
Shue, Donard.
Smith, James.
Smith, Matthew, Mrs.
Starr, Mary.
Stokes, Thomas.
Tobin, Michael.
Toner, Thomas.
Torney, John.
Wall, Catharine, Mrs.
Walsh, Michael.
Wilson, Aubray C.
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. 523
REV. ARTHUR J. DONNELLY,
PASTOK OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL.
REV. Ai-tlnir J. Donnelly was bom on the 19tli
of January, 1820, in Atliy, County Kildare,
Ireland, and Avas brought hither by his parents, who
emigrated to New York in 1827. His father intending
him for commercial pursiTits, liis education was directed
to that end, and was principally received in the schools
of St. Mary's ChtU'ch — first in the original church in
Sheriff Street, then in the temporary church comer of
Pitt and Grand Streets, and finally in the present church.
Leaving school in his fourteenth year, he served a short
apprenticeship to a diy goods firm doing business in tliis
city and Paterson, N. J. This firm succumbed to the
panic of 1836, and closed its business. He was then
engaged by Lord & Taylor, whose only store at that
time was in Catharine Street. With tliis finn he remained
eight years, filling a confidential position the latter part
of the time. In 1844, he formed a copartnership and
entered into business with his cousin, the late David P.
Campion, under the title of Campion & Donnelly. Dur-
ing these years the atti-actions and excitements of
524 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
commercial life did not suppress an oft-felt desire to
stndy for the priesthood, which was not acted on, prob-
ably because no opening presented itself for the purpose.
During his youth there was no school in New York
calculated to develop a vocation or point out the road to
the priesthood. In 184G, St. Joseph's Seminary was
established by Bishop Hughes, and placed in charge of
the Jesuit Fathers. A few visits to that institution and
an acquaintance formed with some of its students led Mr.
Donnelly to abandon commercial life for the sanctuary.
Having been cordially received by Bishop Hughes, who
approved of his resolution, he withdrew from business and
entered St. Joseph's Seminary a few months after its
establishment.
He was ordained priest by the Most Reverend Arch-
bishop Hughes, in St. Patrick's Cathedi-al, on the 6th of
October, 1852, and on the 28th of the same month was
sent to ]\Ianhattanville to organize a parish and erect a
church. In our sketch of the Chm-ch of the Annuncia-
tion we have seen how well he succeeded in the task
confided to him, at the very outset of his sacerdotal
career.
On the 14th of October, 1855, he was ti-ansfen-ed
to Fordham, to assume a position for which his business
ability gave him singular advantages — that of procm'ator
of St. Joseph's Theological Seminary, as well as to fonn
a new parish and organize into a congregation the Cath-
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. 525
olics in that district who began to frequent the chiu-ch
connected with the seminary.
When he had spent two yeai's in this position, to
the complete satisfaction of the Most Reverend Ai'ch-
bishop, his colleagues, and his flock, his Grace resolved
to give a wider and more important field for the exercise
of his priestly qualities. He sent him (Tiice more to or-
ganize a parish and erect a chmxh ; but, far-seeing as that
great prelate was, and himself full of grand ideas for the
future of Catholicity, he could not for a moment have
anticipated such results as have followed from the ap-
pointment of the Rev. A. J. Donnelly to the parochial
district of St. Michael's.
Nor has his infliience been confined to this parish.
He was appointed by Ai'chbishop Hughes to frame and
prepare a uniform system of parochial books and ac-
counts, which proved a work requiring great experience
and knowledge, and attest his ability.
Since 1873 he has been a member of the council
of his Eminence the Archbishop of New York, a re-
sponsible as well as honorable position, in itself a proof
of the high esteem in which he is held.
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD.
SECOND AVENUE.
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD.
SECOND AVENUE.
A
BOUT the yeai- 1842, the tremendous opposition
made by the vaiious Protestant denominations,
when the CathoHcs asked the restoration of the old
New York plan of aiding all religious schools, had a
most beneficial effect in arousing the whole Cathohc
body on the island to a sense of their rights and wants.
It gave them new life, and was followed by a prompt
extension of Catholic chm-ches and institutions.
At that time, the Catholic, starting from St. Mary's
northward along the East River side of the island, looked
in vain for any sign of his faith till he reached Fiftieth
Street, where St. John's was just struggling into exist-
ence, except the little German Church of St. Nicholas.
With these exceptions, the whole district was bm-ied in
darkness and the shadow of death.
The Rev. Andi-ew Byrne, a far-sighted and active
clergyman, who believed in establishing new churches
wherever possible, had looked anxiously for some oppor-
tunity to organize a new parish in that part of the
city. At last, in February, 1842, the announcement of
legal sales proclaimed that, by order of the Court of
t
528 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Chancery, a large and commodious building on Second
Avenue, which had been erected as a house of worship
and occujwed hj a Presbyterian congregation, would be
sold to the highest bidder.
At the auction the bids were reasonable, and the
chiu'ch was purchased, in behalf of Rev. Mr. Byrne, by
Edward Roche, Esq. As there was no part of the city
where a church was more needed, this purchase was
hailed by the Catholics. The Right Reverend Bishop
Hughes had given his earnest sanction to the project,
and itjOw assigned the Rev. Mr. Byrne to this new field
of labor. The church was fitted up for Catholic wor-
ship, the Liturgy of the Apostles, of the Catacombs, of
the Ages of Faith. A very neat and chaste altar, with
rich gilt candlesticks, a painting of the Crucifixion as an
altar-piece, with paintings of the Annunciation and the
Assumption of oiu- Lady at the sides, showed that the
edifice was to be used for a purer and holier faith.
It was solemnly dedicated on the 5th of June, 1842.
The event attracted great numbers of Protestants as well
as Catholics — no tickets being issued. The Right Rev-
erend Bishop Hughes performed the dedication service,
which deeply impressed all, ' especially the Protestant por-
tion, particularly at the moment Avhen the officiating
prelate, after moving ai'ovmd the outside of the edifice,
advanced tlu-ough the great door in solemn procession up
the nave to the altar.
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD. 529
After the dedication of the chiu-ch to tlie .seryice of
Ahiiighty God, under the invocation of the Nativit}' of
our Lord, a Pontifical High Mass was offered by the Rt.
Rev. Benedict J. Fenwick, D.D., Bishop of Boston, one
of the oldest li\'ing of the early priests of New York.
The Rev. John J. Conroy, afterwards Bishop of Albany,
was deacon, and Rev. Dr. Ilarley, too soon to l^e lost
to the diocese, officiated as subdeacon ; the Rev. D. W.
Bacon, who was to become, in time. Bishop of Portland,
acted as master of ceremonies. In the sanctuary were also
the Rev. Messrs. Starrs, McCarron, and O'Neill.
After the gospel of the day, the Rt. Rev. Bishop
Hvxghes preached, St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corin-
thians (iii. 4), furnishing the text : " For no one can lay
another foundation, but that which is laid, which is Christ
Jesus." For more than an hour his eloquence kept the
congregation fixed in profound attention. He spoke in
warm commendation of the prompt and liberal aid given
to the new pastor, to whom the Catholic community was
indebted for this new church, by Dr. Roche, liimself not
a Catholic.
The attendance was very large — estimated at two
thousand five hundred — but no confusion took place, so
perfect were the aiTangements.
The new parish was soon organized, and prosperous
under the care of the Rev. Dr. Byrne, but on his appoint-
ment as Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas, the Rev. Ed-
34
630 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
ward O'Neill became pastor. The Rev. Richard Kein was,
from 1844 for several years, assistant and then pastor, till
he founded St. Bridget's Church.
In September, 1847, the Rev. George McCloskey
was appointed pastor, and for more than twenty years
was the revered priest of the parish of the Nativity.
During this long period he was assisted from time to
time by various clergymen — the Rev. John Shanahan, one
of Bishop Connolly's priests, in 1848 ; the Rev. John
Murray Forbes in 1852 ; in the following year by his
brother, the Rev. William McCloskey, subsequently rector
of the American College at Rome, and now Bishop of
Louisville, Kentucky ; the Rev. Felix H. Fan-elly no^v
pastor of St. James, in 1853, and from 1855 by the
Rev. William Everett.
As the congi-egation seemed to increase beyond the
capacity of the church, the Rev. George McCloskey, in
1848, established the Chapel of the Nativity, at No. 572
Fourth Street, which was attended from the chmxh, but
the attempt to establish succursal chapels did not meet
the wishes of the people ; the project was soon aban-
doned and has never been revived.
The health of the Rev. George McCloskey failed so
that for a time he went to Europe in hopes of regaining
strength to continue his labors. After visiting the fa--
mous health resorts, he was, finding that years in Eu-
rope left him no better, about to return to America,
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD. 531
when he made trial of Great JIalvern, England. Here,
thongJi an invalid, he felt eager to labor, and fin.Ung
that in February, after three months' stay, he was weU
enough to say mass, he fitted up a temporary chapel in
a gymnasium. A little congregation assembled, which
increased so as to excite alarm. The gymnasium was
refused him; then he set up his altar in a di-ill room,
till the lady of the manor closed this on him. Not a
place in Malvern could be found; but an American res-
ident had a house with two large rooms. This became
the chapel, and here mass was said daily, till the Rev.
Dr. McCloskey returned to New York, when Bishop
Ullathorne sent a priest to continue his labors.
Finding that his complete recovery was extremely
doubtful, the Rev. Dr. McCloskey resigned his charge in
April, 1869.
The Rev. William Everett, who had been assistant
smce 1855, became pastor on the resignation of the Rev.
George McCloskey, and is still directing the faithful of
Nativity parish with quiet zeal and piety. His curates
have been the Rev. J. J. Griffin and Rev. Thomas J.
Ducey. His present assistant is the Rev. M. A. Nolan,
appointed in 1872.
The societies established in the parish are the Asso-
ciation for the Propagation of the Faith, the Conference
of St. Vincent de Paul, the Rosary Society, an Altai-
Society, and the Society of the Children of Mary.
532 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Roll of H
ONOR.
CHURCH
OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD.
.
Aubert, Eugene.
Fulton, James.
Marshall, Henry.
Bannigan, Edward.
Gallagher, John.
Meehan, John, Jr.
Bingham, Jacob W.
Garno, Benjamin.
Mitchell, William P.
Brady, Ann E., Mrs.
Gorman, Anthony.
Murphy, John.
Brady, Thomas.
Haggerty, Joseph.
Murray, Bridget, Mrs.
Brennan, Edward.
Hellen, Catharine.
Nagle, Garrett.
Burns, John.
Hewitt, Thomas.
Nugent, Mary.
Carroll, Bernard.
Hodgins, Thomas.
O'Brien, John.
Clark, Rose.
Hughes, John F.
O'Connell, William.
Cogan, John.
Hugo, Henry.
O'Donnel, Ann, Mrs.
Cooke, William.
Johnson, James.
O'Leary, John.
Creamer, Francis.
Kaughran, John E.
O'Meara, James.
Crumey, Andrew.
Kelly, Tyler, Mrs.
O'Neil, Joanna.
Cummings, Hugh.
Kieman, John.
Poe, John.
Cunningham, Patrick.
Lalor, William.
Price, William.
Delaney, John.
Larkin, Michael, Mrs.
Reilly, Bernard.
Dodien, Mansuy.
Lee, James.
Reilly, William J.
Doody, Edward.
McCabe, Thomas.
Rodman, Isaac.
Dowling, Joseph J.
McCollum, Lydia A.
Rooney, P.
Dowling, Mary, Mrs.
McCullough, John.
Ryan, Michael.
Doyle, Michael L.
McDonald, Francis J.
Schuff, Jacob J.
Duffy, Mary, Mrs.
McGovem, Michael.
Sheckelton, Christopher.
Dynan, Michael J.
McLaughlin, Michael.
Shields, Andrew.
English, James.
McLaughlin, Robert.
Spratt, Michael.
Farrell, Thomas.
Madden, Thomas.
Walsh, James.
Foley, Matthew.
Madigan, Jeremiah.
Ward, Edward.
Fox, Robert C.
Maloney, Patrick.
Wilson, William R.
Fraprie, Abigael, Mrs.
Manning, Thomas.
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD. 533
REV. WILLIAM EVERETT,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF TlIK NATIVITY.
THE Rev. William Everett, the present pastor of
the Chm'ch of the Nativity, was l)om in the
City of Albany, Angust 14, 1814.
He was brought up in the Protestant faith, and, study-
ing for the ministry, received orders in the Protestant
Episcopal Chvux'li, in wliich he spent several years offi-
ciating as a clergyman of that body. In the impulse
given to thought by men hke the Rev. Samuel Farmer
Jarvis in this country, and the Oxford school in Eng-
land, many who had taken the Anglican system in good
faith began to examine the solidity of the grounds on
which it rested. Conviction dawned on not a few that
the whole separation and reconstruction in the sixteenth
century was unwan-anted and without authority. It re-
quired special graces from God in many cases to re-
nounce position, associations, long-formed habits of thought,
and to come humbly into the Catholic Church as lay-
men. The Rev. Mr. Everett heroically made all the sac-
rifices needed to correspond to the grace accorded him.
He was received into the Catholic Chm'ch, and, after
pursuing theological studies at St. Joseph's Seminary,
534 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Fordham, then directed by Fathers of the Society of
Jesus, he was ordained priest by Archbishop Hughes on
the 29th day of January, 1853, the feast of St. Francis
de Sales.
He was first assigned to duty in St. Peter's Church,
but remained only a few months, when he was stationed
at St. Joseph's Church as assistant. In 1854 he was
appointed curate at St. Ann's Church, where he remained
till the following year.
He became assistant to the Rev. George McCloskey,
in the Church of the Nativity, in the month of October,
1855, and has remained connected with the parish for a
period now approaching a quarter of a century, having
been made parish priest by the Most Reverend Ai'ch-
bishop, now his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey, in 1869.
His present associate is the Rev. M. A. Nolan.
CIIUROIl OF SAINT NICHOLAS.
SECOND 8TKEET.
CHURCH OF SAINT NICHOLAS.
SECOND STREET.
THE priest who organized the congregation which
founded St. Peter's Chnrch was a Gemian Fa-
tlier of the Society of Jesus. He found some of his
CathoHc countrymen here in his earhest visits. Just after
the close of the last century even, the question was
raised of establishing a German church also ; but the
project was discouraged, and it was not till about the
year 1834 that any formal steps were taken to oi'ganize
a German congregation.
This great work was due to the Rev. John Raffeiner,
who, says Archbishop Hughes, " in his youth, his vigor-
ous manhood, and his old age, both in holy priesthood
and in the practice of a learned profession, served his
Creator in fear and holiness. Tlie venerable Father
Raffeiner is sunmioned from amongst us to that other
and better world which God has prepared, for those who
love and serve Him in this. In Heaven he will not
forget to intercede for us, and especially for his people,
who have been under his spiritual care so many years.
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS. 537
Many of you have no recollection of the spiritiial de.sti-
tution that prevailed in New York when the now popu-
lous dioceses of Brooklyn, New York, Buffalo, Albany, and
Newark were comprised in one. The Grerman Catholics
were then but few, and totally devoid of spiritual aid.
It was the good providence of God that, at this partic-
ular period, directed the steps of Father Raffeiner hither,
where he entered most faithfully and earnestly on the
work assigned him, in supplying spiritual comfort to liis
needy countrymen. He was made the coadjutor of my
immediate predecessor, the lamented Bishop Du Bois, and
vested w^ith the care and responsibility of attending to
tlie spiritual wants of the German Catholics of the
diocese. In justice to him I must say that wherever
there were German Catholics, there would Father Raffeiner
seek them out and minister to them, being prevented
neither by the winter's snows, the summer's sun, nor the
inconvenience of travel in that day, from fulfilling the
duties assigned him."
This language shows how eminent a priest St.
Nicholas had for its founder, and if the great Areli-
bishop could say, " Bishops, priests, and people have
reason to remember Father Raffeiner for many years to
come," his name and his memory can never be forgotten
in the Church of St. Nicholas.
Under his impulse, the German Catholics assembled
and organized ; and an imoccupied Baptist chiu-ch on
538 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YOEK.
the corner of Delancey and Pitt Streets was hired. Here
mass was said regularly.
To erect a suitable chiu-ch was the next step. For
this purpose, on the 1st of September, 1834, they pur-
chased, through Dr. Joseph C. Springer, of John Jacob
Astor, fom- lots of gi-ound on Second Street, between
First Avenue and Avenue A, gi\nng a front of a hun-
dred feet and a depth of one hundi*ed and six. On Easter
Monday, April 20, 1836, the Very Rev. John Power,
Vicar General of the diocese, assisted l)y the Rev. Jo-
seph A. Schneller of Christ Church and the Rev. John
Raffeiner, proceeded to the ground, where a large con-
course of citizens had assembled, and laid the corner-
stone, with the ceremonies prescribed by the Roman
ritual. The Rev. Mr. Schneller then addi-essed the
audience in English. After treating of the general sul3-
ject of the erection of houses for divine worship, as
well as of the structures raised in order to gratify human
pride, he said: "The edifice which we now commence
to erect will have nothing to boast from the ingenuity
of the design which human skill is to impart. Its plain
construction will furnish nothing to elicit admiration. It
will neither be planned by power nor achieved by wealth.
But let not its simple plan and its diminutive di-
mensions lessen the vast and incalculable importance
of its object. Its object is not earthly. Ineffably
superior to that pyramid which grew up in the plains
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS. 539
of Egyf)t, it calculates upon holy communings of man
Avitli God. We lay not the foundations for a monu-
ment of human pride, in which the remains of earth's
despotic rulers are to repose, hut for a tabernacle in
which the Eternal King of Heaven is to reside. It will
not be a gigantic pile, to attract the admiration of na-
tions and the gaze of many generations ; but a chapel
in which spiritual blessings are to be received, wliich will
fructify on this terrestrial stage of existence, and the plen-
itude of whose enjoyment will be consummated in a life
to come."
The Rev. Mr. Raffeiner also addressed his flock in
German, impressing on them the greatness of the work
wliich they liad undertaken for the glory of God.
The project was to erect fii-st, in the centre of the
lots, a building with a front of fifty-two feet, and extend-
ing back seventy feet; and as the congregation increased
in means and numbers, to add a ti'ansept ninety-six
feet in length, and prolong the main building to ninety
feet. Tlie work was continiied steadily, and the church
finally erected; the builders', work and material costing
$8,174.57; the organ $600, and the fitting-up, $1,38445;
in all, a little over ten thousand dollars.
Before the work was completed, the lease of the
hired church apparently terminated, and the German Catho-
lics were, for a time, accommodated in the basement of
St. Mary's. The Rev. Mr. Raffeiner made ever}' efi"ort
540 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
to collect for the purpose of erecting the chiirch, extend-
ing- his tour even as far as New Orleans.
The cluu-ch was at last ready, and Avas solemnly
dedicated to the worship of the Holy Tiinity, on Easter
Sunday, 1836, under the invocation of St. Nicholas, Bishop
of Myra.
The Rev. Mr. Raffeiner remained for seven years pas-
tor of St. Nicholas, having as assistant priest the Benedic-
tine Father Nicholas Balleis. His labors were not confined
to the parish — he was mainly instrmnental in erecting a
church at Macopin, N. J. ; laid the foundation of the
Cluu-ch of the Holy Trinity in Boston ; officiated in va-
rious parts of New Jersey, at Albany, Utica, Rochester ;
erected the Clmrch of St. John the Baptist in Thutieth
Street, and the Chm'ch of the Most Holy Trmity, Wil-
liamsburgh, where he died.
Jle was succeeded in 1840 by Dom. Nicholas Balleis,
on whose removal to Newark the Rev. Bishop Hughes
wished to confide the chm-ch to the Redemptorists ; but
the trustees declined to enter into his plans, and the
Rev. Gabriel Rumpler, C.SS.R., erected the Church of
Our Most Holy Redeemer.
In June, 1844, the Capuchin Father, Ambrose Buch-
meyer, from the Diocese of Strigonia, Hungary, became
pastor of St. Nicholas, and continued to direct the parish
till his death, October 11th, 1861 ; assisted from August,
1845, by Father Felician Krebesz of the same order.
CHURCH OF ST. NTCIIOLAS. 541
Soon after lie toolc charge oi tlio parish it was foiiud
necessary to enlarge or rebuild the church. TIkj carry-
ing out of the original plan was abandoned, and the
present fine chui-ch erected in 1848. It is a Grothic
structm-e, the facade of cut brown stone. The interior is
extrendy neat, the Avood-work being of walnut. The
altar is of beautiful marble, elaborately wrought and richly
decorated, and there are two elegant side altars. The
building cost thirt}' thousand dollars, all of which A\'as
paid when the time came for its dedication.
This imposing ceremony was performed by the Right
Rev. Bishop Hughes, on the 24tli of December, 1848.
The full ritual was earned out, the procession of bishops
and clergy making the circuit of the clnu'ch without and
within. After the blessing of the altar, the Right
Reverend Bishop addressed the innnense nndtitude, who
filled every pai't of the church. His text was : "I have
rejoiced in the ■ things that were said to me : We sliall go
into the house of the Lord." (Psalm cxxi. 1.) High Mass
was then celebrated by the Rev. Mr. Rubesc, and an
eloquent sermon preached by the celebrated Jesuit Father
Pottgeiser.
The new chiu'ch seats eleven hunch-ed and forty, and
suffices amply for the wants of the congregation.
Schools were established at an early date, and in
1867 the Rev. Father Buchmeyer erected a fine school-
house, which will accommodate a large number of pupils.
542 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
The boys' school is conducted by the Brothers of the
Clmstian Schools, who have six hundred and fifty pupils
under their charge ; and the girls, to the number of seven
hundred and fifty, are taught by the Sisters of St. Dominic.
On the death of Father Buchmeyer, Father Krebesz
became pastor, and discharged the duties of the position
till he too passed away, January 4, 1876.
His Eminence Cardinal McCloskey then confided the
care of the parish to the Rev. Francis J. Shadier, who
had been assistant since August 15, 1875. He is still
pastor, assisted by the Rev. Anthony Lamell and Rev.
John Mayer.
There are in the church the Rosary Society, the
Corpus Chi-isti Society, the Society of the Agony of Om-
Lord, the Confraternity of the Sacred Heart, and foiu"
Sodalities of the Blessed Virgin. Besides these religious
associations, there is the Conference of St. Vincent de
Paul, and the St. Nicholas, St. Paul, St. Vincent de Paul,
and St. Killian Societies.
The saint to whom the chiu'ch is dedicated may be
regarded in some sort as the patron of New York. So
widespread was the devotion to him, that in Catholic
times he had chui'ches under his invocation in every
country of the East and West. He was the especial pa-
tron of the poor, the oppressed, the imperiled maiden,
the childi-en, the mariner, and the trader. Not even the
blasting sirocco of the sixteenth centmy could tear from
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS. 543
the hearts of the people a veneration for St. Nicholas.
The Calvinists of Holland, Avho settled the island, taught
their chikben to expect reward for good conduct through
the hands of St. Niklas, and children to this day at
Clmstmas time look to Santa Glaus, as he is called, by
corruption, for the presents of the season. The city has
its hotels, banks, insiu'ance companies, societies named in
his honor; and a publishing house, never Catholic in its
tendencies, issues a magazine for the young which bears
the name of this servant of God.
St. Nicholas was born at Patara, a city in Asia
Minor, a child of prayer granted to parents who had
long sought offspring from God. Trained in piety, he
corresponded fully to the desires of his parents, and
devoted himself to the altar as a priest of God. The
wealth he inherited was used to relieve distress, especially
that bashful poverty that shriilks from appeal. Entering
a monastery at Myra, he became, in time, its abbot, and,
when the archbishop of the city died, the abbot, re-
nowned for his sanctity and miracles, was unanimously
chosen. He is said to have suffered in the persecution
of Diocletian, and to have aided powerfully in the Coun-
cil of Nice to condemn the heresy of Arius. He died
in 342, and was interred in his own cathedi'al, which
was for ages a place of pilgrimage. In 1087 his relics
were transferred from his ruined church to Bari, in Italy.
The miracles wrought by his intercession diffused his
544 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
devotion througliout the West, and every seaport liad,
ere long-, a chm-cli in liis honor. That those who for-
sook the faith shoukl have borne his fame to our city
is one of the remarkable instances of Grod's providence,
lie is especially honored in Europe as a pati'on of
the young, one of the miracles ascribed to him being
the restoration to life of three children who had been
cruelly murdered and concealed in a tub. In allusion to
this, he is frequently represented arrayed as a bishop
with tln-ee childi'en in a tub near him.
Roll of Honor
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS.
Kilian Kling. Anthony Euring. Fritz Emmerman.
CHUECH OF ST. NICHOLAS. 545
KEV. F. J. SHADLER,
PASTOK OF THE CHUECH OF ST. NICHOLAS.
THE present pastoi' of the oldest German cliiu*cli in
New York City, the worthy successor of Father
Raffeiner in his good work, is the Rev. Francis J.
Shadier.
This reverend gentleman is a native of Germany.
He was born on the 10th of May, 1834. He came
to the United States when a child, and grew up amid
the scenes of American life. At a suitable age, having
made preliminary studies to fit him for entrance to a
university, he entered our oldest Catholic institution,
Georgetown College ; and, after the u.sual com'se in that
seat of learning, resolved to enter the ecclesiastical state
and devote his life to the service of the Almighty.
'' To ground himself in that sacred learning which is
necessary in one raised to holy orders, he went to
Europe, and pm-sued his divinity studies in France and
Germany. He was ordained priest at Mayence, on the
14th of August, 1864, by the late Bishop Ketteler, for
the Diocese of Charleston, to which he had connected
himself.
Returning to the United States, ho began the exer-
35
546 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
cise of the ministry in tliat diocese, then in a most
disastrous condition ; the civil war having scattered the
Cathohc body and left the State of South Carolina with
desolated churches and institutions.
Never, perhaps, have the Catholic priesthood in this
country had a more discouraging field before them than
that of our Southern States after the war. The young
priest was not disheartened, but zealously endeavored to
build up again the prostrate clim-ch. He labored on
manfully till the end of the year 1872, when he found
himself compelled to seek some other scene for his
ministiy.
On coming to New York, he was assigned to St.
Nicholas' Church, by the Most Reverend Aixhbishop, as
assistant, in August, 1875, and was appointed pastor in
January, 1876.
viliiir,
f^ iil-
o
c;
c
• e
O
c
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MERCY.
FORDHAM.
ONE of the great desires of the Most Reverend
Arehbisho]) Hughes, on his appointment as co-
adjutor to the venerable Bishop Du Bois, was to estab-
lisli a theological seminary for the Diocese of New York.
The venerable founder of Mount St. Mary's had in vain
endeavored to create a similar institntion after his ap-
pointment as successor to Bishop Connolly. When his
coadjutor had purchased the Rose Hill property at Ford-
ham and opened St. John's College, the way seemed
oiDen at last for endowing the diocese with an institution
which woiild, in future, supply it with well educated
priests, formed under learned and spiritual guides to the
true sacerdotal spirit.
To accommodate the professors and seminarians, the
Right Reverend John McCloskey, D.D., coadjutor, laid
the corner-stone of a beautiful Gothic seminary, near the
college, on the 3d day of April, 1845.
It was not at first designed to begin a church also,
but the Right Reverend Bishop soon felt the necessity of
erecting one of some size, not so much for the use of
the Catholics in that vicinity, who were few and scat-
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MERCY. 549
tered, as to afford those preparing for the priesthood a
chapel in which the services of the Chm-ch could be
earned out tlu'ough tlie ecclesiastical year, with full ad-
herence to the rites and ceremonies prescribed in the
rubrics.
The chiu*ch was begun in the course of the spring,
and the work on the two structures went on simultane-
ously till the fund collected was exhausted. In a state-
ment or appeal issued in October, the Right Reverend
Bishop Hughes said : " The chiu-ch, which is to be ded-
icated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is, including the
tower in front, one hundred feet long by fifty feet wide.
Although it is a separate and a still more sacred edi-
fice than the seminary, yet both are essentially parts of
the same gi-eat work. The church also is advanced very
considerably — the walls having been constructed and the
roof, though not yet placed, framed and ready to be
put on."
The church was soon completed and dedicated.
Among all the Catholic churches of the city, it is, we
think, the only one that can be said to have been
erected directly by Archbishop Hughes.
A Latin poet, the Rev. R. Rainaldi, wrote of it : —
" Virgo fave ; nova teinpla til>i jam sustulit Hughes,
Hue age cum Puero ccelicolisqiie veni.
Per te rosarum tumulus, sic nomine prisci
Hoc dixere patres, grafior erigitur;
550 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Quique prius luillo ignotiis gaiulebat honore
Fama modo hunc claro vulgat ubique sono.
Vere novo pictas nectentes flore corollas
Deponent aras ante tuas pueri ;
Certatimque, simnl celebrantes carmine laudes
Te veniente die, Te fugiente, canent."
When completed, it was one of the most beautiful
churches yet seen, lighted by six stained-glass windows,
representing St. Peter, St. Paul, and the fom* Evange-
lists.
As the Cluu'ch of the Seminary, it witnessed the
conferring of minor orders, and of the subdiaconate and
diaconate, although the priesthood was conferred at St.
Patrick's Cathedi-al.
In 1855, the Right Rev. Dr. Hughes, resuming the
direction of the seminary and church, sent the Rev.
Arthur J. Donnelly to act as procurator of the institu-
tion and pastor of the church. The number of Catho-
lics in the vicinity had increased to such an extent that
a regular parochial district was allotted, and it devolved
on the Rev. Dr. Donnelly to organize this parish. From
this time tlie Church of Our Lady of Mercy appears
regularly in the list of the churches of tlie diocese.
In 1857, the Rev. Dr. Donnelly was called to a
wider sphere, and the Rev. W. P. Morrogh, superior of
the seminary, became pastor, and continued to minister
to the parish till the final closing of the seminary, in
1860, when, at the request of the Most Reverend Arch-
CHUKCH or OUR LADY OF MERCY. 551
bishop, the Jesuit Fathers of St. John's College assumed
the parochial care of the congi-egation connected with
the church. The first pastors under this arrangement
were the Rev. Father Isidore Daubresse, S.J., and the
Rev. Father Paul Mignard, S.J.
The Chm-ch of Our Lady of Mercy has continued
under the care of the society down to the present time.
The pastor in the year 1878 is the Rev. John J.
Fitzpatrick, S.J., assisted by the Rev. Edward Doucet, S.J.
Connected with the church are several pious asso-
ciations—the Society of the Holy Rosary, the Young
Men's Sodality of the }3ona Mors, the Ladies' Sodality
of the Blessed Virgin, the Confraternity of the Sacred
Heart. There is also a Conference of the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul, for the relief of the poor, and an
Altar Society.
Within the district of the Chm-ch of Our Lady of
Mercy is the now venerable institution, St. John's Col-
lege, the oldest Catholic University in the State ; and St.
Joseph's Select Academy for Young Ladies, under the
Sisters of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary; and also an
institution for deaf mutes, directed by the same community.
552 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
K
OLL OF H
ONOR.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MERCY.
Adamson Miss
Finnigan, Mrs.
Murphy, John.
Bergen, Mrs.
Fitzgerald, William.
Murray, James.
Bradley, Thomas.
Gcraghty, Bernard.
Murray, Patrick.
Brady, John.
Geraghty, Mary.
Nash, Michael.
Burke, Ellen.
Ging, James.
Oches, E.
Burns, John.
Glynn, John.
Peugnet, Eugene.
Burns, Joseph.
Goleven, Michael.
Purroy, Francis M.
Casey, Samuel.
Haughney, Patrick.
Purroy, Henry D.
Cassidy, Richard.
Hicks, Patrick.
Purtell, Anna M., Mrs.
Clare, Margaret.
Hogan, John.
Quinn, Matthew.
Clayton, Michael.
Holt, Miss.
Quinn, Michael.
Connell, Michael.
Houlihan, Thomas.
Reddington, William.
Connor, Francis.
Keeley, John.
Regan, Robert.
Coogan, William.
Kehoe, Lawrence.
Ryan, Peter.
Cowley, Mrs.
Kenealy, Michael.
Ryner, John.
Crotty, James.
Kerins, Thomas.
Savage, John.
Delaney, Michael.
Leddy, John.
Shally, Thomas.
Delany, Denis.
Lee, Patrick.
Shanly, Patrick.
Dobbins, Patrick.
Loughman, Edward.
Smith, M. P.
Donnelly, Michael.
Lynch, Mrs.
Sullivan, Mrs.
Donnelly, Patrick.
McGuire, Denis.
Thompson, John.
Doran, Michael.
Mack, Michael.
Underwood, John.
Doran, William.
Mangan, John.
Ward, Christopher.
Dowling, Michael.
Martin, Mrs.
Webb, Thomas.
Downes, Mary.
Meagher, Thomas.
Weiser, Mrs.
Dundon, Arthur H
Mooney, Patrick.
Windsor, William.
Dunne, Thomas.
Moore, Joseph.
Young, William.
Dyer, John.
Mulligan, Edward.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OP MERCY. 553
REV. JOHN FITZPATRICK,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MERCY.
SINCE the blending of the Diocesan Seminary of
St. Josej^h with the Provincial Seminary established
at Troy, tlie Chiu-ch of Our Lad} of Mercy, formerly
directed for several years previous from the seminary, has
been confided to the care of Jesuit Fathers of St. Jolm's
College, amid whose grounds it stands.
The Reverend Father who has for the last year
performed parochial duties in this chm-ch is the Rev. John
Fitzpatrick. He was born July 13th, 1832, and, after
a coiu-se of study, feeling himself called to the religious
state, entered the Society of Jesus, August 21st, 1857.
Two years spent in the retirement of a novitiate, de-
voted to prayer and spiritual exercises, are followed by
the scholastic vows. Then the yoimg Jesuit is either
assigned to duty as teacher or prefect in one of the
colleges of the order or pursues at once the studies
M'hich are to prepare him for priestly ordination.
Father Fitzpatrick received holy orders apparently
about the year 18G8. In that year he was stationed at
the Church of St. Joseph, Troy, as assistant pastor, and
acquired general esteem by his modesty and zeal, as
554 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
well as liis devotedness to every duty of a priest. In
1870 he was appointed vice-president of St. Jolm's Col-
lege, Fordham, and as Prefect of Discipline had the gen-
eral super\'ision of the students. This responsible position
he filled for several years. The prosperity of the college
during this period attests his fitness for the administration
of a large educational estabHshment, and his knowledge
of the young. In 1875 he was again engaged in mis-
sionary work, at his old parish in Troy, and in 1877 was
selected to act as parish priest of Our Lady of Mercy,
where he now exercises the ministry most acceptably.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE SEVEN DOLORS.
PITT STUEET.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE SEVEN DOLORS
(OUR LADY OF SORROWS).
PITT STREET.
THIS church, one of the most recently erected for
the use of the German Cathohcs of the city, is
due to the zeal of the Capuchin Fathers, who are a
branch of the great Franciscan family. They were no
strangers in this country, having labored in Nova Scotia,
]\Iaine, and Louisiana, in the days of French and Spanish
colonial rule, and gave an early bishop in the South,
as well as in our day an archbishop in the British
Provinces.
The recent establishment of the order in this country
is due to two secular priests — Rev. Messrs. Haas and
Frey — who came to this country in 1856, with a view
of forming a community under the Capuchin rule. Bisliop
Henni of Milwaukee welcomed them to his diocese. The
General of the order deputed Father Anthony Maria to
admit them, and direct them during their novitiate. The
Convent of Calvary in Wisconsin arose in Fond du Lac
County, and God blessed the new comniunity. A second
convent and chiu'ch were established in Milwaukee.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF SEVEN DOLORS. 557
Rev. Father Bonaventura Frey then came to New-
York, and the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey,
beheving that his order could perfoi-m a good work
among the German population of the city, authorized
him to commence the erection of a chmx-h.
With the approval of his Grace, Father Bonaventura
selected the eastern part of the city, within the limits
of old St. Mary's. A structm-e of some size, used as a
saloon, was obtained for use as the temporaiy chapel,
and was soon fitted up by the zeal and energy of Father
Bonaventiu:a. Three lots of gi-omid were then purchased
on Pitt Sti-eet, between Rivington and Stanton Streets,
and on the 15tli of August, 1867, the comer-stone of a
church, to be erected under the invocation of the Blessed
Virgin of the Seven Dolors, was laid by the Most Rev-
erend Archbishop McCloskey.
By the exertions of the Rev. Father Bonaventura col-
lections were made to carry on the work, and the chui'ch,
a structure of brick, supported by stone pillars, lighted by
one of the largest cupolas then in the city, was soon com-
pleted. It is built in the Byzantine style of architectm-e,
and is one hundi-ed feet long by sixty-six feet wide, and
wall accommodate twelve hundi-ed people. The inte-
rior is very neat, and the beautiful altar is surmounted
by an elegant pieta, a statue of Om- Blessed Lady hold-
ing the lifeless body of her Divine Son — a w^ork of art
presented to Father Bonaventm-a by the King of Bavaria.
558 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The chiu'cli was dedicated on the Gth of Septem-
ber, 18G8, by the Most Rev. Archbishop McCloskey. After
the impressive ceremony, a Solemn Iligli ]\Iass was offered
by the Rev. Maximus Leimgruber of the congregation
of the Most Holy Redeemer, rector of their chnreh in
Third Street, assisted by the Rev. Adam Tonner of tlie
Church of St. Nicholas. A sermon in German was de-
livered by a Capuchin Father. At the close of the holy
sacrifice, the Most Reverend Archbishop addressed the peo-
ple in earnest and eloquent words. lie congratulated the
congregation on the completion of the holy work in which
they had been engaged for upAvards of a year, under
the direction of the pious Capuchin Fathers. The chiu-ch
had been dedicated to the Most High, and was no longer
man's dwelling, but the House of Cod. All had been
said that required to be said in language that went home
to the hearts of every one present — the language in
which they had learned to pronounce the sacred name
of Jesus, the language in which they were taught the
rudiments of their religion, and lisjied as childi-en the
name of ]\Iary. It was not more dear to them now
that they heard it beneath the beautiful dome of the
noble edifice in which they were worshiping. No build-
ing made with hands could lend greater importance to
the spoken words of truth, but it was a language inex-
pressibly dear to them, by reason of the hope that it
gave and the faith it taught. Henceforth the building
CnUECH OF OUE LADY OF SEVEN DOLOES. 559
would \k'^ ii liouse of prayer, tlie temple of God, iiud,
lie lioi:)ed, to many thousands of those now wallvhig in
darkness, the very kingdom of heaven for themselves
and their children.
A dense Catholic congregation soon clustered aroiind
the cluu'ch, and the reverend founder summoned two
Fathers from the West to join him in the labors of the
new German parochial district.
The establishing of schools was one of the first cares
of Father Bonaventura. Wliile the chm-ch was still heavily
in debt, it was found impossible to j^ay the exorbitant
price demanded for a site required for . the schools, so that
for the time being the basement of the chxu-ch served
as class-rooms.
Father Bonaventura was soon after requested by his
Grace the Ai-chbishop to assume the direction of the
Chinch of St. John the Baptist, and was succeeded at
Om- Lady of the Seven Dolors by the Rev. Father
Laurentius, Vorwerk, who is at present the zealous pastoi*.
He was able to cany out the original design, and at a
reasonable price pm'chased ground for the school-houses.
Under the Rev. Father Ivo Prass, O. Min. Cap., the
next pastor, the dome was adorned with paintings of the
Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin, by the artist M.
Lang ; and he also erected the fine school-house attached
to the chui-ch. This institution now contains tlu'ee hun-
dred and twenty-five boys, under the Brothers of I^Iary,
5G0 CATHOLIC CHUECHES OF NEW YORK.
and three hundred and fifty girls, who are taught by
the Dominican Sisters, who came from WiUiamsbiu'gh.
The next pastor was the Rev. Father Joseph Pickl,
a native of Bavai-ia, born in tliat Catholic kingdom on
the 14th of September, 1846. He was ordained priest by
the Most Reverend John Martin Henni, D.D., in Mil-
waukee, on the 7th day of November, 1875 ; and was
appointed pastor of the Church of om- Lady of the
Seven Dolors in February, 1876.
Father Pickl was succeeded in 1878 by the present
pastor, the Rev. P. Laurentius Vorwerk, 0. Min. Cap., who
thus returned to tliis parish, where he had ah'eady won
the esteem of all.
Roll of Honor.
Mrs. Catherine Stiehler, George Adrian.
CHUECH OF OUR LADY OF SEVEN DOLORS. 561
REV. FATHER P. LAURENTIUS VORWERK,
O. MIN. CAR,
SUPERIOR AT THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE SEVEN DOLORS.
THE Reverend Capuchin Father now du-ecthig the
Chm-ch of Our Lady of Sorrows is an Ameri-
can member of the venerable association who direct the
congregation.
Father P. Laurentius Vorwerk, 0. Min. Cap., was bom
in Burhngton, Iowa, on the 15th of August, 1841 ; and,
resisting tlie attractions of the world, which appeal so
strongly to American youth, to each of whom the most
brilliant futm'e seems easy and possible, this young man
resolved to give himself to God, and to embrace a life
of poverty and humility under the rule of St. Francis in
the habit of the Capuchin Order. After pursuing his
studies at the Calvary College, Wisconsin, he was ordain-
ed by Archbishop Henni of Milwaukee, on the 22d of
May, 18G9, and soon showed not only zeal and piety as a
priest, but abilities of no common order in the adminis-
tration of affairs.
He was selected by Very Rev. F. Bonaventura to
succeed him in the Chui-ch of Om- Lady of Soitows,
but after a time was called away to imdertake an im-
portant work in the Diocese of Milwaukee. The Church
36
562 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
of St. Francis, Milwaukee, was a poor frame building,
no longer adapted to the wants of the congregation.
Father Laurentius soon aroused the zeal and energy of
the people, and erected a new Byzantine chui'ch — one
of the finest in Wisconsin — after designs by the archi-
tect, W. Schickel, of New York, with a neat convent
for the Fathers, and established schools to accommo-
date the children of the growing congregation. After
remaining here some time as Guardian of the Convent
and pastor of the congregation, he was, in 1878, to the
regret of his people, called from them to resume his
more humble labors at the Chm-ch of Our Lady.
The assistant priests within the last year have been
Rev. Father Paschalis Straub, 0. Min. Cap. ; Rev. Father
Bruno Schmitz, 0. Min'. Cap. ; and Father Bernardino.
The zealous Fathers have established the Third Or-
der of St. Francis in then* parish, a real religious order,
with a rule adapted by the serapliic founder himself for
persons living in the world, and em-iched by the Sov-
ereign Pontiffs with many special favors. The Third
Order of St. Francis boasts of many saints in all ranks
and classes, from kings and queens on theii' thrones to
the humblest degree in life. There are also in the
Chm-ch of Our Lady, Rosary and Altar Societies, and
several approved sodalities.
To relieve the poor there has been organized a con-
ference of the excellent Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
O
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1-3
CHURCH OF SAINT PAUL.
EAST ONE HUNDKEU AND SEVENTEENTH STREET, HARLEM.
FOR many years, as we have seen in these sketches,
the Cathedral of St. Patrick was the only chmch
north of Canal Street. Some of the priests attached to
it had to attend all the Catholics scattered in the upper
part of the island, and along the North River and
Long Island Sound. Mass was said occasionall}' in houses
or barns, where a number could be gathered together ;
and when a summons came for a priest to attend the sick
or d}'ing, one would set out, not aided by raih'oads as
now, but by such conveyance as he could procm-e, and
make his way thi-ough snow or storm to the dying
Catholic. The Cathedral was, in fact, the resource of a
large inu-al district, and many of the priests connected
with it attended Catholics in the upper part of the
island. Harlem, which from the Dutch times had been
a hamlet by itself, became a centre where, as population
increased, the mmiber of Catholics became more apparent.
Mass was occasionally offered in hired halls or private
houses till the year 1834, when the Right Reverend
Bishop Du Bois resolved to establish a clnu-ch there with
CUURCH OF ST. PAUL. 565
a resident jiriest who could from that centre minister to
the faithful in various directions.
He selected for the position the Rev. Michael Cur-
ran, who had been a zealous laborer in the mountains of
Pennsylvania, and who had come warmly recommended
to the Bishop of New York by I^-ince Dmitri Galitzin.
One incident recorded by the late Thomas Darcy ]\IcGee
will best show the priest. "During the cholera of 1832,
he was called to attend a man and his wife who were at
the point of death on one of the highest peaks of the
Alleghanies. Tying his horse to a tree, when he could
urge him on no further, he climbed on hands and feet
to the miserable shanty on the summit. Here he found
the woman lying dead, with an infant sucking at her
breast; the man ho had barely time to hear and to
absolve. Taking up the helpless babj-, he wrapped it
in his cloak, and carried it a considerable distance to the
next habitation. He committed it to the charity of those
good people, by whom both the parents were interred.
He retained a watchful care over his orphan for years,
and when he died, she was a full grown woman in
Pittsburgh, a credit to her early benefactor."
Such was the priest commissioned to found a church
at Harlem. A site was soon selected and jnu-chased,
on One Himdred and Seventeenth Street, between Third
and Fom-th Avenues. The corner-stone of the new church
was laid here on the 29th of June, 1835, by the Right
566 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Rev. Bishop Du Bois, and an eloquent and appropriate
discourse was delivered on the occasion by the Rev. Dr.
Charles C. Pise. A large quantity of building stone had
been procured, the plans for the modest Clmrch of St.
Paul were ready, and an advertisement was at once is-
sued for proposals for the masonry and carpenter work.
The cluu'ch, by the zeal of its pastor, was soon
completed, and to a great extent paid for.
It was solemnly dedicated, and soon had a numerous
attendance.
From Harlem the pastoral labors of the Rev. Mr.
CmTan extended thi-oughout Westchester and over two-
thirds of the present Brooklyn diocese. " Where there
are now," said Mr. McGee, in 1856, " twenty flomishing
chiu'ches with resident priests, there was then not one.
Mass was celebrated in private houses, in rented halls,
and in barns. A numerous dispersed population were to
be cared for and called in. Mr. Curran's j)opular man-
ner, his old-fashioned frankness, his knowledge of the
Irish tongue, again enabled him to be of the highest
service."
The Rev. Mr. Cm-ran remained at St. Paul's till the
year 1843, when he went to Ireland, and on his return
founded the chiu'ch at Astoria, where he died, November
27, 1856.
He was succeeded by the Rev. John Walsh, who
was the zealous pastor of Harlem till 1853, when the
CHUECH OF ST. PAUL. 567
Rev. George R. Bropliy was appointed, and for thirteen
years ministered to the Catholics in that district.
On In's retiring in 1866, the Rev. Eugene Maguire
was chosen by the Most Reverend Archbishop, and lias
since directed the clnirch to the satisfaction of all. He
has been an active and energetic pastor. He introduced
the Sisters of Charity, for whom he erected a residence.
He bnilt large and commodions school-houses, and in
1871 enlarged the clnu'ch, making it one of the most
commodious and comfortable in the outer parts of the
city. The rededication of St. Paul's Church was per-
foi-med on Sunday, the Otli of July, 1871, by the Most
Reverend Archbishop McCloskey, assisted by many of
the most eminent clergymen of the diocese, who came
to honor this restoration of comparatively one of our
older cluu'clies.
After the ceremony prescribed by the ritual had
been performed by his Gi-ace, a Solemn High Mass was
offered by the Very Rev. William Starrs, Vicar General,
Avith Rev. Thomas Mooney of St. Bridget's as deacon,
Rev. H. P. Baxter as subdeacon, and the Rev. Francis
McNeirny, master of ceremonies. The churcb was most
attractive in its new and improved condition: the altar
was loaded with flowers contributed ])j the Ladies of
the Sacred Heart, Manhattanville. The music, a mass by
Bernardi, was rendered with great skill, under the direc-
tion of Dr. Daly, the accomplished oi'ganist.
568 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The sermon was preaclaed by the Rev. Mr. O'Far-
rell of St. Peter's Church, his text being from the Apo-
calypse (xx. 2). Before giving his episcopal benediction,
his Grace also addressed the multitude, who filled the
church, congratulating them on the improvement of their
edifice, and the general zeal manifested in the spii-itual
growth of the parish.
The parish of St. Paul's has several sodalities and
a flourishing rosary society amongst its members, while
the altar shows the zeal of the ladies of the society
devoted to its care and adornment. There is a well-
sustained temperance society, and tlie conference of the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul is well organized and
active.
The schools, under the care of the Sisters of Charity,
number about nine hundred cliildi-en.
y.2.
CHURCH OF ST. PAUL. 5Gy
REV. EUGENE MAGUIRE,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, HARLEM.
WE regret deeply our inability to ascertain the
time and place of the birth, or any j)articu-
lars of tlie earl}- life of one of the oldest clergymen
connected with tlie Catholic cluu'ches in New York City,
who has labored steadily in the diocese, from his ordi-
nation, in city parishes and in rural districts, for more
than a quarter of a century.
He was educated for the priesthood at St. Joseph's
Seminary, Fordham, and was ordained by the Right
Reverend Bishop Plughes on the 80th of May, 1847.
His first appointment was that of assistant in the
large parish of St. James, Brooklyn, since tlie cathedral
parish of that episcopal city. In 1848, the Rev. Mr.
Higgins, of Westchester, being compelled to seek a tem-
porary respite on account of ill health, the Rev. Mr.
Maguire was sent to St. Raymond's Chm-ch, assuming
charge also of the congi'egation at Throgg's Neck. He
remained as permanent pastor till the year 1853, when
he was made parish priest of St. Mary's Church at
Rondout.
After a short stay at that ])oint he was transferred
570 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK
to the Chiu'cli of the Immaculate Conception at Yon-
kers, where he continued during the year 1854 and tlie
following year. He has since been connected with
chiu-ches Avithin the limits of the city, so that he is
well and widely known. In 1857, he was assistant at
St. Joseph's Church on Sixth Avenue; from 1858 to
1862, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in
Fom-teenth Street; from 1862 to 1866, at St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
From the last date he has been pastor of St. Paul's
Church at Harlem, a period of twelve years.
The improvements in the chm-ch, and the flourishing
state of the society connected with the chm-ch, show
that his ministry has not been a barren one.
CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, 571
Roll of H
ONOR.
Barry, John.
Farrell, Thomas.
McCarthy, Eugene, Mrs.
Beruey, Patrick, Mrs.
Farrelly, James.
McCue, Magdalena.
Bissicks, Joseph.
Ferrigan, Patrick F.
McGinnis, Robert.
Blundel, Fanny, Mrs.
Flyiin, James S.
McGowan, M. Milmo.
Boyland, James.
Fox, Michael.
McGuire, Henry.
Breslin, Patrick.
Gaffney, James H.
McGuire, Patrick.
Buggy, John.
Gearon, Michael.
McNamee, John.
Burke, Michael.
Gilligan, Patrick.
McParlan, Thomas.
Byrnes, Wilham.
Green, Maggie.
McSorley, John A.
Carey, Peter C.
Halloran, John.
Madden, John.
Carson, James.
Halpin, John.
Meehan, John.
Coates, W. J.
Halpin, Thomas.
Miller, John R.
Coffey, Thomas.
Harney, Thomas.
Molly, William.
Coman, John M.
Hayes, Thomas F.
Moore, James.
Connell, Hugh G.
Hays, Daniel.
Moore, John.
Connolly, John H.
Heffernan, Joseph.
Mullen, Thomas.
Conyngham, Daniel.
Heffernan, Rodger.
Murray, John.
Coogan, Hugh.
Hickey, John.
Nagle, William.
Coyle, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Higgins, Jeremiah.
Nevins, Patrick.
Cronin, Patrick.
Hogan, William F.
Nolan, John.
Crowley, James.
Holland, Edward.
Norris, James.
Cullen, John.
Hughes, James.
O'Brien, John.
Daly, Lawrence.
Hughes, Matthew.
O'Donnell, Edmund B.
Davin, Norah.
Hughes, William.
O'Kane, Peter.
Deady, Daniel C.
Keegan, James.
O'Reilly, Dominick.
Dealy, William J.
Kehoe, James.
Point, Emanuel.
Dobbins, James.
Kelly, Bernard.
Quigley, Daniel J.
Dobbins, John.
Kelly, Edward E.
Regan, Daniel.
Dolan, Stephen.
Kelly, James.
Regan, James.
Donethy, John.
Lally, John M.
Reilly, John.
Donohue, Patrick.
Lalor, James F.
Royston, Joshua T.
Donovan, Timothy.
Lalor, Julia A., Mrs.
Ryan, Patrick.
Duffy, Constantine.
Lalor, Patrick H.
Shandley, Christopher.
Dunn, Thomas.
Lambert, Charles.
Slavin, Daniel.
Dwyer, ^ohn.
Laughlin, Daniel.
Sullivan, John.
Edwards, John.
Leddy, Timothy.
Sullivan, Michael.
Falvey, Dennis.
Lennon, Thomas.
Walsh, James.
Farrell, Andrew F.
McCann, Margaret.
Weston, Cornelius.
CHURCH OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE.
WEST FIFTY-NINTH STREET.
CHURCH OF SALNT PAUL THE APOSTLE.
WEST FIFTY-NINTH STREET, NEAR NINTH AVENUE.
ONE of the best known of our city cliurches is
tliat of the so-called Paulist Fathers, erected
under the title of " St. Paul the Apostle," situated on
the block fronting Ninth Avenue, between Fifty-ninth and
Sixtieth Streets. The original chiu-ch no longer exists ;
it having comprised the two lower stories of the build-
ing now Avholly occupied by the Fathers as a convent,
the corner-stone of which was laid by the ]\Iost Rev.
Ai-chbishop Hughes, on Trinity Sunday, June lOtli, 1859,
and formally opened and blessed for divine worship by
the Very Rev. William StaiTs, Vicar General, on the
first Sunday of Advent, November 27 th of the same
year. This biiilding was twice enlarged to accommodate
the rapidly increasing niimber of parishioners, the first
addition being made in 1861, and the second in 1865.
Thus enlarged, the seat accommodation amounted to
thirteen hundi'ed. The parochial limits assigned to this
chiu-ch at its opening were \^'idely extended, embracing
all the upper part of the city on the west side from
Fifty-second Street to Manhattanville, and from Sixth
Avenue to the North River. The Catholic population at
574 CATnOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
the time was, however, small, and the Missionary Fathers
who made it their headquarters had to collect funds all
over the country to enable them to erect their convent
and temporary church.
About the year 18G6, the parishioners living between
this chm-cli and Manhattanville secured for themselves a
site for a new church, and the present Clnu-ch of the
Holy Name of Jesus, situated at the junction of the
Boulevard and Ninety-seventh Street, was built, and
given in charge of the Rev. Richard Brennan, formerly
pastor at Port Jervis. The line of division between this
new parish and that of the Paulist Fathers was placed
at Seventy-fifth Street. In the year 1876, another new
parish was formed by his Eminence the Cai'dinal Arch-
bishop McCloskey, and tlie ])resent Chm-ch of the Sacred
Heart, situated in Fifty-first Street, was opened. To
form the parish limits of this latter chm-ch, the parish
of the Paulist Fathers was again cm-tailed, and the line
of division on the south was placed at Fifty-fom-th
Street. The portion thus cut off contained about one-
third of the whole number of parishioners attached to
the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. In the present
year (1878), the number of souls in the parish is esti-
mated at six thousand five hundred.
The chm-ch now used for divine worship is a
temporary wooden structm-e, one hundred feet square,
facing on Sixtieth Street, between Ninth and Tenth Ave-
CHURCH OF ST. PAUL THE ArOSTLE. 575
nues, opened for use on January 213 tli, 1877. Its seating
capacity is one thousand, but the wide aisles left unoc-
cupied by pews give standing room for almost as many
more. An unusual proportion of the room is occupied
by the sanctuary, it being twenty-five feet wide and
extending across the whole liuikling, one hundi-ed feet.
The use of so much room is demanded Ijy the choral
arrangements and the imposing ritual ceremonies for
which this church has always been remarkable, and par-
ticulai-ly so since the year 1870, Avhen the Gregorian
Chant was adopted by the Fathers as the ruling melody
for all their church services. In the centre of the
sanctuary stands the high altar, flanked on either side by
four rows of black-walnut choir stalls. On the left
stands the altar of the Blessed Virgin and slu-ine of the
Sacred Heart. On the right is the organ, in front of
which are the altars of St. Joseph and St. Justinus the
Martyr, and shrine of Our Lady of Lom-des. Thi-ee
lamps are kept per^jetually burning — one before the Blessed
Sacrament, another before the shrine of the Sacred Heart,
and a third before the altar of St. Justinus, under which
repose the relics of that martyr, exhumed from the cata-
combs. From the time of the erection of the shrine of
Our Lady of Loiu'des, December 8th, 1874, the people
have continued to exhibit very great devotion to it — by
prayers said before it, and by the offering of votive wax
tapers, Avhich are to be seen burning there every day in
576 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
the year. There are, perhaps, but few churches in the
United States, or even in Europe, wliei'O the ceremonial
of the sacred rites of the Cathohc Chiu'ch are more
strictly observed or more decorously performed than in
this unpretentious edifice. Indeed, it is a special point
of the rule of the Paulist community, that in all churches
over which they may have control, the Roman ritual
shall be obsei'ved to the very letter.
Between the present temporary chm-ch and Ninth
Avenue, a new clnu'ch of vast proportions is already
being built. The walls of the basement are now finished
to the height of twenty feet. Its general dimensions are
as follows : —
Total length, 284 feet; total width, 128 feet; length
of nave and aisles, 178 feet; widtli of the nave, 60
feet ; width of the aisles, each 1 0 feet ; twelve side
chapels, each 12 by 20 feet ; chapel of the Blessed
Virgin, 25 by 20 feet ; chapel of St. Joseph, 25 by
20 feet ; width and depth of the sanctuary, 60 feet ; two
towers, each 300 feet. Capacit)^, seats for 2,500 persons
and standing room for 1,500 more. The great sanctuary
will contain choir stalls for 120 clergy and senior chor-
isters, and for 200 boy choristers. There are to be
twelve or more confessionals, where confessions will l)e
heard every day. The architect is Mr. Jeremiah
O'Rourke of Newark, New Jersey. The designs show a
building of massive and imposing proportions, but plain
CHUKCH OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE. 577
and very sparing- uf expensive ornamental work on tlio
exterior.
On the 20tli of February, 1875, the Holy Father
Poi)e Pius IX. was gi'aciously pleased to bestow liis
apostolic benediction upon the Paulist Fathers, and also
upon all who should contribute towards the biulding of
their new church. The ceremony of the solemn bless-
ing- and laying of the first stone of this magnificent struc-
ture took place on the feast of Pentecost, June 4th,
1876, in presence of a vast multitude of people, num-
bering over eleven thousand five hundi-ed, as was ascer-
tained by actual count ; each person being- presented -with
a small tract descriptive of the new chm-ch, as they ap-
proached by the different avenues and streets leading to
the place. The ceremony was performed by the lit.
Rev. Michael A. Corrigan, D.D., Bishop of Newark, and
the sermon was preached by the Rev. J. L. Spalding,
D.D., now the Bishop of Peoria.
The founders of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle
were the Rev. Fathers Isaac T. Hecker, Augustine F.
Hewit, George Deshon, and Francis 'A. Baker, who, by
decree of the Holy Father Pope Pius IX., bearing date
March 6th, 1858, were pemiitted to leave the congregation
of the Most Holy Redeemer, of which they had been
members, in order that they might be at liberty to form a
new congregation of Missionary Priests, of which the Rev.
Father Hecker was elected superior, and became the first
37
578 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
pastor of the church, which received the same name as
that of their rehgious community. Being the first com-
munity of Missionary Priests founded in the United'
States, and all its originators being native bom Ameri-
cans, few places may be said to possess more interest
for American Catholics than the Church and Community
of St. Paul the Apostle. The labors of Father Hecker
and his associates are widely known and justly appreciated,
and have made their mark in the history of the Catho-
lic Church of the United States. Their missions, lectures,
publications, and other works, have brought them most
prominently before the American people. The Catholic
World magazine, wliich they created and have sustained
for so many years, has worthily obtained a high place
among the periodicals of this country and Em-ope, and,
together with their other literary labors, has helped most
signally to elevate the tone of Catholic literature, and to
command the respect of all classes for the faith of which
they have been such zealous and enlightened exponents.
CUURCII OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE.
REV. ISAAC T. IIECKER, C.S.P.,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE.
AMONG the remarkable and representative Catholic
clergymen of New York City will ever be num-
bered the Rev. Isaac T. Hecker, who has endowed the
Chui'cli in the United States with a new congregation of
Missionary Priests, sanctioned by the Archbishop of New
York with the permission of the Holy See, and with a
rule esjjecially adapted to the work befoi'e the Chui-ch in
this country.
Few of the clergy in this country are so thoroughly
conscious of the tone and tendency of American thought,
of the aspirations and aims of the active American mind,
have built greater hopes on all that is true and noble
in it, or labored more earnestly to dispel the mists of
error that encircle it and. lead it to the truth.
He is a native of New York City, born here in
1819. His education was received in the schools of his
da}' to fit him for the mercantile life in which his
brothers had embarked, and were acquiring wealth and
esteem by the perfection of their flour mills, and the
high business character they established. But it was
soon evident that a life of study rather than a mercan-
tile life was congenial to Isaac. In the summer of 1843,
580 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
led, as many American tliinlcers were, to embrace the
new social ideas promulgated in France, he joined the
Association for Agricnltm-e and Education at Brook Farm,
West Roxbury, Mass., and at a later date took part in
a similar organization at Worcester, Mass.
His mind was too clear not to perceive, in a very
brief trial, that these systems furnished only husks for
the cravings of the human mind, and gave it no sub-
stantial aliment. On his return to New York, his exam-
ination of Catholic doctrines and principles led him to
accept them, and in 1845 he was received into the Church.
He was by nature one to diffuse his ideas, and to
influence others. The ministry seemed natui'ally his place.
The congregation of Missionary Priests of the Most Holy
Redeemer, founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori, as he beheld
it here, seemed to him one to which he was called. He
went to Europe, was received as a novice at St. Trond,
in Belgium, in 1847. After passing his novitiate and a
course of theological study, he was sent by his superiors
to England, where, in 1849, he was raised to the priest-
hood by the late Cardinal Wiseman. Two years were
then spent in missionary duty in England, but in 1851
he returned to this country with several other American
members of the congregation, and took his place among
the Redemptorist Fathers laboring in the United States,
but hitherto almost exclusively among the German element.
For seven years Father Hecker was a zealous missionary,
CHURCn OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE. 581
employed in various parts of tlie country among the En-
glish-speaking Catholics. But certain obstacles in the way
of these English missions made him anxious to secure
the means of prosecuting them more effectually.
With this view, Father Hecker, in 1857, visited Rome,
and at length, his case was laid before the Holy Father
himself for his si;preme adjudication. The result was that
the connection of Father Hecker and his companions with
the congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ceased, and
they formed a new missionary society, under the name
of the Congregation of St. Paul the Apostle. Establishing
themselves in New York, with the approval ;ind cnconr-
agement of the Most Reverend Archbishop Hughes, they
conmienced a church and convent at the cornev of Ninth
Avenue and Fifty -ninth Street. Besides the care of the
congregation which at once filled their temporary church,
the Fathers of the new conffreijation Ijeu^an to "•ive
missions in churches throughout the countr}', producing
great good.
Father Hecker, in 1855, issued a work entitled
" Questions of the Soul," followed two years later by the
" Aspirations of Natm'e," both a.da})ted to the vast num-
ber of Americans -who have cut themselves loose from all
the systems engendered by the Protestant Reformation
and reached the plane of naturalism. In Rome he pub-
lished two essays on Catholicity in the United States,
which were translated into several languages.
582 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
The need of a Catholic periodical of high character,
taking a position between the review and the popular
magazine, led to the establishment of the Catholic World,
which has so met the wants of the whole body of the
faithful that it has reached its twenty-seventh volume,
and done immense service in elevating the thought, culture,
and literary taste of the community.
The establislunent of a Catholic Publication Society
was another work of Father Hecker's. The issue of
tracts and treatises in a cheap form was one of its main
objects, but though this system seems to never become
popular among Catholics, the society has been the medium
of issuing many valuable Avorks.
In the ecclesiastical aflPairs of the country, Father
Hecker has appeared prominently. He attended the Sec-
ond Plenary Council of Baltimore as Superior of the
Missionary Priests of St. Paul the Apostle, and was made
Vicegerens of the Second Congregation on the Hierarchy
and Government of the Church, and the Education and
Pious Training of Youth. He delivered a sermon before
the Fathers of the Council on the Future Triumphs of
the Chvirch.
He subsequently took part in the Third Diocesan
Synod of New York, held in September, 1868.
He was at Rome dm-ing the sessions of the Vatican
Council, and caused to be written for the Catholic World
a series of excellent papers on its proceedings.
CnURCII OF ST. PAUL THE
APOSTLE. 583
Within the
last few years his
health has been se-
riously affected.
He went to Europe to obtain advice, 1
but he lias not
entirely recovered,
and his comparative
retirement from
liis useful and pious (
jareer is a subject of
general regret.
His frank, clear, in
onounced, and sound
views are missed alike in the councils of his Eminence,
in the pulpit, and in the field of Catholic literature ; but
we trust only for a brief time.
\
Roll of H
ONOR.
Arrieta, Perquillo.
Cassidy, William.
Devlin, James.
Behan, John.
Cleary, William.
Dolan, Francis.
Black, Thomas.
Connolly, Alice, Mrs.
Donohue, Margaret, Mrs.
Braden, John.
Connolly, Kate.
Donohue, Michael.
Brennan, Thomas.
Connor, William.
Dowling, Thomas A.
Brown, Joanna.
Conway, Rose, Mrs.
Down, Frederick J.
Browne, WilUam.
Corblis, John.
Doyle, Mary.
Buckley, Martin.
Cosgrove, James C.
Ducey, John, Mrs.
Butler, M., Mrs.
Curley, Edward J.
Duffy, Bernard C.
Byrnes, Matthew.
Curnen, Annie T.
Duffy, Frank.
Byrnes, Patrick J.
Curtin, John.
Dwyer, John.
Callaghan, Patrick.
Cosgrove, James C.
Eagan, Edward.
Carey, Francis.
Daly, Eliza, Mrs.
Eagen, Patrick.
Carolin, James.
Daly, Joanna, Mrs.
Fariey, Kate, Mrs.
Carroll, James.
Danvers, Robert E.
Farrell, Mary.
Carroll, John.
Daskam, Eliza Sisk.
Farrell, Michael.
Carroll, Mary.
Delany, Andrew.
Feeley, Michael M.
Casey, Patrick.
Dempsey, Thomas.
Field, William H.
Cassidy, James.
Devine, Matthew J.
Finnan, Francis.
584
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
Furey, John.
Gallagher, Michael.
Golding, Patrick.
Goodwin, John J.
Gordon, Edward.
Gordon, Edward P.
Gormley, Patrick.
Grant, John.
Guion, William H.
Harlin, John.
Harold, John.
Hassell, Samuel.
Healy, John W.
Hecker, George V.
Heimbuch, Rosina.
Henry, John.
Hicks, Michael.
Hogan, Ellen.
Horgan, J. J.
Hughes, George W.
Jetter & Dux.
Kane, Alice, Mrs.
Kane, Cornelius J.
Kearney, Peter.
Kearney, William, Mrs.
Kearns, T. J.
Kelly, Charles.
Kelly, Frank A.
Kennedy, John.
Kitson, Henry, Mrs.
Leonard, Terence.
Lynch, Edward.
Lyons, Edmond.
McArdle, Henry.
McAuley, Margaret, Mrs.
McAvoy, James E.
McCarthy, John.
McCue, John.
McDermott, Michael.
McDonnell, Patrick.
McGowan, Michael.
McKenna, Michael J.
McKenney, Thomas.
McKeon, John.
McMaster, James A.
McNeirny.James L., Mrs.
Mackey, John.
Maginn, P. F.
Malone, Andrew.
Martin, Francis.
Martin, Thomas.
Masterson, John H.
Masterson, Mary, Mrs.
Mathews, Arthur.
Milleman, David.
Mesigh, Catharine, Mrs.
Monks, John.
Moore, James.
Morgan, John.
Morgan, P., Mrs.
Morrissey, Lawrence.
Muldoon, Silvester.
Mulligan, Patrick J.
Murphy, James.
Murphy, John.
Murray, James B.
Murray, Patrick.
Noonan, Alice, Mrs.
O'Brien, Francis.
O'Brien, Thomas.
O'Callahan, Thomas.
O'Farrell, Catharine, Mrs.
O'Hara, James.
O'Neil, Charles.
O'Reilly, Patrick.
Phelan, Mary Ann.
Power, Maurice W.
Pryor, James.
Raborg, Samuel A.
Redmond, David.
Richardson, John W.
Riley, Thomas.
Robinson, George B.
Rogan, James H.
Rogers, Hugh J.
Russell, Michael.
Ryan, James.
Ryan, Joseph P.
Savage, Sarah A.
Scanlan, Honorah.
Scanlan, M.
Shannon, John.
Shannon, Thomas.
McNamara, Michael J.
Skelly, William.
Slattery, James.
Smith, Michael.
Spaulding, Ellen, Mrs.
Spencer, John Campbell.
Sprague, Henry E.
Stafford, Maurice.
Tallon, James and Susan.
Taylor, George H.
Temperly, John.
Thornton, Rachel, Mrs.
Travers, Frank.
Travers, Vincent P.
Vought, AVilliam H.
Winston, J.
Wagner, Harrison.
Whitty, Robert.
ClIllUCII OF SAINT PETER.
BARCLAY STREET.
CHURCH OF SAINT PETER.
BARCLAY STREET.
ON the 23d of November, 1783, the City of New
York was evacuated by the last Enghsh army,
and it was able to enjoy the freedom purchased by seven
years of war and sacrifices. It was by no means a
large town. MuiTay Street was its northern limit, and
the ruins of many public and private buildings destroyed
in the great fii'e of 1776 still disfigured the place. For
its twenty thousand people there were nine churches fit
for use ; but of these nine, the few Catholics could not
claim one. Yet they were free : the victorious army
had its Catholic officers and soldiers ; Catholic ministers
of foreign countries, following the lead of La Luzerne,
the envoy of France, entered the city. In the follow-
ing year the Continental Congress, which included some
Catholic members, held its sessions in New York ; and
after the adoption of the Constitution the new Congress
met here till 1790, and dtu"ing that period it was the
residence of the President and of all the foreign min-
isters.
No sooner was the island free from the Britisli than
CHURCH OF ST. PETER. 587
Father Farmer made liis way into New York, extending
liis mission tour as far as Peekskill, in December, 1783.
The Catholics in the city endeavored to seciu'e a suit-
able hall for a chapel, but this proved impracticable ;
the authorities would not grant a room in the Exchange,
when requested by the French Consul in 1785, and there
was no hall to be hired. So Father Farmer said mass
for his flock where he could : now in a house in Water
Street; in a carpenter's shop in Barclay Street — the old
Italian gentleman, Mr. Trapani, we knew in our youth,
who heard mass there, is still vivid in om* recollection ; —
in the house in Vauxhall Gardens, near Wan-en Street ;
wherever, in fact, they could get or hire accommoda-
tion for the moment. In 1785, the room they occupied
was, an Italian traveler tells us, far from becoming the
noblest worship ever offered by man to his Creator; but
the papers of the day tell us that they met at times
that year in the house of Don Diego de Gardoqui, on
Broadway, near Bowling Green — the truly Catholic am-
bassador of the Catholic king.
The faithful in the city, long deprived of all the
influence of the Church, were deeply imbued with many
of the prevailing Protestant ideas, and adopted their sys-
tem of church organization. The little Catholic commu-
nity, without priest or altar, organized as a congrega-
tion, and, without consulting or recognizing ecclesiastical
authority, on the 11th of June, 1785, incorj)orated St.
588 CATHOLIC CHUROnES OF NEW YORK.
Peter's Church, under a general act passed by the State
Legislature, April 6, 1784. St. John de Crevecoeur,
Consul General of France ; Jose Roiz Silva, John Stew-
art, and Henry Duffin, Avere named as the first trustees.
An Irish Capuchin Father, the Rev. Charles Whelan,
who had, as a chaplain in De Grasse's fleet, seen the
overthrow of Cornwallis, and subsequently been taken
prisoner, came to New York in 1784, Avith letters from
Lafayette, and, doubtless, from his admiral. The Rev.
John Carroll, then Prefect Apostolic of the Catholics in
the United States, after some hesitation, gave him facul-
ties. The venerable Father Farmer, soon to close his own
career of mission labor, was among the congregation he
had collected in New York, in November, 1784, and in
April, 1785, and continued a supervision over the flock
till his deatli. The first pastor of the Catholic body in
New York was a priest of blameless life, fitted by edu-
cation for liis position, Avith no little dry wit ; l)ut he
was not an eloquent preacher, and his long residence in
France had made the language of that country more
ready to him than his own. Unfortunately, though he
could find only tAventy communicants, he found many
noisy people who wished a thundering preacher rather
than a good confessor. In fact, most of them, from Avant
of opportunity to ' practice their religion, Avere in the
greatest ignorance of their faith and obligations. During
his brief pastoral charge, the trustees of St. Peter's, after
CHURCH OF ST. PETER. 589
sevenil inelicctual attempts elsewhere, purchased of Trin-
ity Chm-ch, in the winter of 1785, a plot of ground on
the corner of Barclay and Church Streets, mainly, it
would seem, under the advice of Mr. Silva. Don Diego
de Gardoqui, the Sj^anish minister, was the greatest sup-
port of this attempt. He interested his royal master,
who allotted a considerable sum to aid in erecting New
York's first Catholic chm-ch; and when the ground was
prepared for the laying of the corner-stone, that ceremony
was performed by the Spanish minister, no mention being
made of the presence of a clergyman or the ceremo-
nial prescribed b}^ the Roman ritual. The event took
place on the 4th of November, 1785, the feast of St.
Charles Borromeo, patron of Charles IV., King of Spain,
and on that day mass was said at the house of the
representative of his Catholic Majesty.
The venerable John Carroll, as Prefect Apostolic, vis-
ited New York in 1785, to administer the sacrament of
confirmation for the first time on our island. He was
deeply interested in the projected church, and employed
the authority conferred upon him, as well as liis personal
influence, to unite the flock to their pastor, but found, even
at that early day, in some of the trustees a very defiant
spirit. At the time of the laying of the corner-stone he
was invited to visit New York and perform the cere-
mony, but was then at too great a distance on official
duty.
590 CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
During the year, tlie Catholics of New York, for the
first time, enjoyed the spiritual advantage of a jubilee,
that of 1776 having been specially extended to the United
States for a definite period. It was now duly piiblislied
in the temporary Church of St. Peter.
The work on the new clnirch advanced, and was so
far completed dm-ing the year 178G that the Holy Sac-
rifice was offered for the first time, in October, by the
Rev. Andrew Nugent, a Capuchin, who had arrived, but
'to whom the Rev. Mr. Car 
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